Bounty Hunting by Any Other Name
by Lavernius Tucker The Aqua Man
Summary: A certain bounty hunter finds a remote world with primitive technology. Believing this place to be somewhere he can lie low, He will join the Adventurer's Guild, and perhaps have a few run-ins with the Frontier's Kindest.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Spearman smiled to himself, clamping his trusty spear as he and Witch made their way back to the Guild.

"5 months, oh, it's been so long!" He exclaimed. "I am exhausted!"

Witch smiled. "Hmm...yes. Good to be back."

They walked by the blacksmith, the smell of charcoal filled Spearman's nostrils, and he inhaled the fumes willingly.

"The smell of home." He hummed. He closed his eyes and opened them, then blinked and focused on the guard towers. Mainly, the people on top.

"Did...the Frontier get new soldiers?" He asked Witch.

Witch looked up. "Hmm...No, not last I...checked."

Paranoia swept over the Frontier's Strongest. He put a hand to his chin.

"We might be in trouble then. Those are not town guards."

One of the supposed "guards" held a black metal tube that stuck out from the tower like a big cannon. The guard noticed Spearman eyeing him and squinted.

"Strange weapons." Spearman muttered within earshot of Witch, turning back to the road ahead. "Strange outfits...We couldn't...there's no way that they…"

A freaky bipedal humanoid with horns sticking out of it, holding a black tube, shorter than the guard on the towers, walked past, bumping Spearman.

"Move along." It growled.

"Let's just get to the Guild." Spearman said, quickening his pace.

"Spearman…" Witch started, but he was already at the doors. She sighed and followed.

He peeked through the crack in the double doors, and breathed a sigh of relief. Putting both hands on the door handles, he swung the two open and announced his presence.

"Fellow adventurers! I have returned again!" Spearman declared.

The Guild hall erupted in cheers, and Spearman smiled. His paranoia was washed away instantly. The petite and lovely Priestess, of which Spearman was acquainted with, walked over with a smile.

"Hello, Spearman. Welcome back." She greeted.

"Thank you my dear, thank you." Spearman answered proudly. "My my, I see you have the full party, ears, tails, and all, but where is the famed Goblin Slayer?"

High Elf Archer rolled her eyes. "For all we know, going on a goblin slaying quest without us. Again!"

Spearman chuckled. "Haha, well, that's too bad."

He now trained his eyes on his prize, the cute receptionist girl at the counter.

"Hello, my dear! Did you miss me?" He asked, trotting up to the counter.

She gave her usual warming smile. "Of course! You must feel exhausted after such a long endeavor! Did you manage to help the Hero?"

Spearman chuckled. He was trying a new tactic: Being humble, he heard, was a good way to gain favor with women. "Well, I tried my best, I will say. Witch, of course, was an excellent helper, and Hero's companions filled their respective rolls."

Guild Girl nodded. "Wonderful! If you wouldn't mind, this being such an important quest requires a lot of details."

"Not at all, my dear." Spearman said. He took the stack of papers with grace and walked over to the bar area, where Padfoot Waitress stood, looking at him with an expectant grin.

"A round of fine brandy for everyone, madam. On me, of course." He said.

The Guild hall cheered at the generous gift for his return.

Padfoot Waitress saluted Spearman and went to the back of the kitchen. Spearman sat down next to a rather bearded man, eating potatoes and some rather nice looking wine.

"Ahh, experiencing the fine quality of the Members Only menu, I see!" He said, smiling at the man.

"Indeed. I'm not a part of the Guild though." The man replied.

Spearman blinked, then let out a hearty laugh. "Good one, my friend. Surely you know I can recognise the smell of Fire Wine a mile away!"

The man spoke through mouthfuls of potato. "I'm not joking."

Spearman froze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two figures in purple armor make their way over. Several other figures, resembling the guards, lifted their heads up, as did many adventurers.

He looked over to Goblin Slayer's party's table, and his eyes widened as he saw High Elf Archer making every motion possible to tell him what he was doing was a bad idea.

The man lifted his hand in a gesture. The two men in purple armor nodded, and sat back down, as did the guards.

High Elf Archer motioned for him to come to her. He obeyed the elf's wishes.

"Do you value your dumb ass?" She hissed. "Don't give him a hard time. On second thought, just don't talk to him!"

"Why not?" Spearman asked. "If he's not an Adventurer, he can't order that kind of liquor."

"Just _leave it_!" The elf snapped quietly.

All of a sudden, Spearman's brain started to turn. It made sense. The man, the guards, the two men in purple armor, the way the Adventurers seemed to disregard the fact that these men were violating Guild rules…

"Did they…him...did he..." He asked, narrowing his eyes. "Capture the town?"

High Elf Archer gave him a look that signaled the affirmative.

"And did he...threaten...my...our...sweet Guild Girl?" He seethed, face contorting in anger.

"Spearman...be realistic." His partner pleaded, accepting that this was their new way of life.

"Oh, I'm being realistic alright! I am so incredibly realistic, that I think I can decide for myself what happened!" He ranted.

"YOU!" He shouted at the man, still eating his potatoes.

"You, there, my good sir. Tell me…" He said condescendingly, marching over. "Do you find it entertaining to threaten our lady friends who work hard at the counter so that you can enjoy pleasantries you do not deserve?"

The man gave him a look. "I think you should sit down."

"Answer the question, sir!" He demanded.

A rustle of seats, and the purple-armored men stood back up.

The man made the same gesture, and they sat back down. He then gestured to the seat beside him.

"Please. Sit."

Realising he was not necessarily in control of the situation, Spearman relented.

"Now, how long have you been away?" The man asked, digging his spoon into his bowl.

"5 months. I was assisting the Hero in defeating a low-ranked Demon Lord." Spearman answered.

"Oh, very good! Did that pay well for you?" The man asked, seeming genuinely interested.

Spearman decided to take the bait. "Not really, only a 25 percent cut for us."

"Aw, that's too bad. Really. I mean, surely, the great Hero pays more than that!" The man replied in what Spearman assumed was fake shock.

"For me, it's less of a chance to get a good payout, and more of a chance to work alongside her."

The man nodded. "Mmmyeah, but it sure don't pay the bills, am I right?"

The man laughed at his own joke, but Spearman was vigilant.

"Now, while you were gone, some things have changed. And you know, I can understand the confusion, you just got back, and all of a sudden things are really different. So let me explain."

He put down his fork and wiped his face with a napkin. "These potatoes are great, Miss Padfoot."

"Thank you, Mister Fellkin." Padfoot replied, not as enthusiastic as her normal self.

"Oh, right. Norm Fellkin. I know, you don't do "first name, last name" here, but I don't really have a title. Now you see, what I do, is...essentially, our operation looks at primitive, backworld places like yours, and try to spice things up a bit! Give you guys an opportunity, to take a look at the things greater than just, I don't know, goblin slaying!" The man explained passionately.

"I'm not buying it. You captured this town and you're using services that aren't yours." Spearman declared defiantly.

"Oh, please. Like that old sack you call your king ever cared about losing a town. But me, I do. Which is why I offered the Guild protection, in exchange for services they provide. This is one of them, I admit, I'm a sucker for good liquor."

He chuckled. "But, look at it this way, there are good things in store for both me, and you."

Spearman stood up. "Well. Look at it this way." He started to walk away, but then turned suddenly and brandished his spear. "We are Adventurers. And I think I speak for all of us when I say-"

The doors opened forcibly. Everyone turned to the door. A man clad in strange armor stood there, scanning the hall, before setting his eyes on the man, Norm. A tattered cape fell from his back. Spearman took a minute to notice the intricate craftsmanship that would have been required to produce a suit of armor this exquisite.

Norm heaved a sigh, and turned to Spearman. "You should probably go sit somewhere else for now."

"Alright. But I'm not done." Spearman growled.

"Sure you aren't." Norm muttered under his breath. The figure in armor began walking over.

The hall seemed to return to normal, but with a strange and eerie loom. Only whispers were heard, but nobody seemed to pay attention anymore.

Heavy Knight approached Spearman. "You are an idiot."

Spearman ignored him and sat down. "Hey! Did you hear me? You are a goddamn idiot! What the hell did you think you were going to accomplish?"

"I don't know, maybe rally some actual Adventurers by my side." Spearman shot back.

Heavy Knight hooted. "Hohoho, buddy, Norm is a cutthroat, and so are his men. You have no idea how hard we tried to stop them, but in the end, we had to act in the interest of the Guild and the townspeople. They were going to start massacring civilians if we didn't surrender."

"You're pathetic." Spearman challenged. "All of you."

Meanwhile, the armor-clad man sat down next to Norm.

"_What drinks do you sell?"_ He asked in a projected, monotone voice.

"Whiskey and meade for non-members." Padfoot replied.

"_I'll try the whiskey." _Came a reply.

"Ahh, you should really consider joining the Guild, my friend. Such good things come out of it."

Norm took a bite of his potatoes. "I'll pay double."

The figure paid him no heed, instead staring ahead, unmoving like a statue.

"Would you like ice in it?" Padfoot asked.

"_Yes please. Lots of ice."_ The man replied.

Norm took another bite. "Triple."

"Anything to eat today, sir?" Padfoot said.

"_What do you have for soup?" _

"Chicken and tomato."

"_Chicken I guess. In a small bowl. To go." _

"Coming right up." Padfoot replied, walking into the back.

While she was in the back. Norm turned to look at the man, who still did not pay any attention to him.

"Quadruple is my final offer."

Silence.

"Fine. Have it your way."

He gestured to the two purple men, who got up from their seats and slowly walked over to the counter.

Adventurers heads were now turned. Spearman noted that the guards seemed somewhat tense, as opposed to their previous relaxed positions.

"You should never have come here. I operate in 21 different systems. And you just managed to find the hive and kick it." Norm said.

Padfoot Waitress came out with the bowl, but then froze seeing the two purple men flanking the armored man.

"_Can I have my drink?" _The armored man seemed completely unfazed, reminding Padfoot Waitress of a certain other armored man.

"I don't believe the Guild told you about my two enforcers, did they?" Norm asked. "They were former 501st, but decided mercenary work was more...rewarding. Very deadly and very, very expensive, I think you would imagine."

One of the purple men pulled out a staff and twirled it. The ends ignited with purple electricity, sparking and fizzing. The other brandished two batons with the same purple electricity sparking on the ends. Both got into different stances.

"_Can I have my drink?"_ The man repeated.

Padfoot Waitress, the poor soul, looked at the man, and then Norm.

"Go ahead. It'll mask the taste of his own blood." Norm nodded.

Heavy Knight and Female Knight approached the counter.

"Gentlemen, if I could ask you to take your business outside, I think the rest of the Adventurers here would be at ease." Female Knight requested.

"_**And what are you gonna do if we say no, shrimpnugget?"**_The purple man with the staff asked, sizing her up.

Female Knight blinked, as if to reflect on past memories between the two. She looked over to the strange figure, still sitting there.

"Sorry, friend." She said, walking back with Heavy Knight.

Norm turned to Padfoot Waitress. "Well?"

Padfoot snapped out of her stupor, and with a mournful frown, handed the cup to the armored man, who took it.

"Enjoy." Norm said.

"_Thanks. I will."_ The man replied.

"Oh, so you _do_ talk to me. I thought maybe you didn't like m-" Norm began, but was immediatley cut off by the sudden smash of the cup against his face. The impact caused him to drop to the floor.

The former 501st Troopers moved in for the kill. The armored man moved quickly, stopping the staff-wielder by grabbing his elbow and twisting it before stabbing him in the back with a concealed knife, and taking out a small device, which shot a red blast of light at the baton-wielder's head, killing him instantly.

Norm's eyes widened, before scrambling to his feet and booking it for the door.

The armored man pointed his arm at the man, hand in a horizontal fist. From his wrist shot some kind of wire which wrapped itself around Norm's leg, pulling him down. Norm struggled against the armored man's pull, in vain.

He was now on the ground, staring up at the helmet of the armored man, who's visor seemed to peer into his soul. Then he spoke.

"_I can bring you in hot, or I can bring you in cold. Your choice."_

Norm struggled, attempting to reach for his hidden blaster pistol inside his boot.

"_Cold it is."_

The armored figure stepped on the man's boot, and he cried out in pain. He then pressed a button on his wrist. The double doors opened, and a hollow black rectangle, floating off the ground, hovered inside.

"No, please. I hate carbon sickness." Norm pleaded.

"_That's too bad."_

The armored figure pushed Norm into the rectangle. From each corner, a blast of some kind of gas clouded his body. He yelled in what must have been terrible pain, before going silent. The cloud dissipated, and the Adventurers took in the sight of the man they feared for so long, frozen in fear. Literally.

"Holy crap! He just carbon froze the boss!" One of the guards cried.

The guards turned to regard the Adventurers, who just realized they had the upper hand.

"Get them!" Spearman shouted, more than happy to rally his fellow Adventurers.

The scene that ensued was chaos. The guards booked it out the doors, demoralized and chased by a mob of deadly Silver Ranks, shouting battle cries and chanting spells. As for the armored figure, he simply walked over to the counter, picked up his bowl of soup, and walked out the door, followed by the floating rectangle. He reached the end of town.

"Hey!"

He turned.

High Elf Archer sprinted over, followed by Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest. Priestess struggled to keep up.

"_Yes?"_

"Is that you, Orcbolg?"

"_Who?"_

"Goblin Slayer!" Priestess said.

"_I have no idea who you're talking about."_ The man replied.

"You sure? You sound a lot like him." High Elf Archer pressed.

"Why don't you just go join in on the fun, kid? I've got more important things to do." The man said.

"I'm 2,000 years old, bucko!" High Elf Archer shot back. "Count them!"

"Yeah, but from experience, you were probably in diapers for a quarter of them." The man replied.

Dwarf Shaman burst out in laughter. "Ahh, that was a good one, my friend! I'll be sure to use that sometime."

"Humpf! I would expect _you_ to say something like that, stupid dwarf!" The archer huffed.

"_Look, I hate to act like you're all not worth my time, but I really don't feel like playing icebreakers. So unless you have something you need me to do, please just...leave me alone."_

"Right. We apologize for our interruption, stranger." Lizard Priest spoke up, being the negotiator of the group. "Thank you for what you've done."

Priestess stepped forward. "Yes. We do very much appreciate it."

"_Don't mention it. It's all part of the job." _The man replied._ "And by don't mention it, I mean actually don't mention anything that happened to anyone. The less people know, the better." _

"Ah, but isn't that how legends grow? Word spreads and-" Dwarf Shaman began, before being cut off.

"_I don't want to become a legend." _The man replied. _"I want to survive, so I can pass on what I've learned."_

He paused, before staring at the group. _"This is the way."_

He then walked away, leaving the group to ponder what he had said.

"I swear to any and all gods, if he isn't Orcbolg, he is hands-down related to him."

**Thus begins a new crossover. I gotta say, I had my eyes on this for a while, but I wanted to find a time to watch the Mandalorian first. And now that I watched it, I totally think it's possible. I am considering putting this ahead of Revanite, because I'm not too crazy about OCs. Hope you all enjoy the next one, which hopefully I will make sometime soon. Expect updates to other stories in the near future.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

High Elf Archer tip-toed through the woods, keeping her eyes on the armored man. The rest of the party had gone their separate ways, but she was not so easily dissuaded. Whoever this stranger was, she wanted to find out.

The armored man stopped in his tracks, kneeling down. The rectangle containing his bounty, she had guessed by now, came to a halt.

He pulled out a long metal tube, like the ones owned by the guards, but longer and more elegant.

He then aimed it down sights, focusing on something.

High Elf Archer crept over to his behind and squinted, using her skills as a ranger to make out what he was seeing.

Two orcs blocked the path ahead. Orcs were brutal creatures, who were much smarter than goblins, and much stronger. But where goblins targeted small, low profile settlements in order to get breeders, orcs preferred to sack military encampments and the like, seeing mere villages and farms to be child's play.

The armored man grabbed a cylinder from a bandolier slung around his shoulder and chambered it in the tube. He then adjusted the scope, before settling down to adjust his aim.

A bright flash came out of the muzzle of the tube, and a plume of smoke leaked out. High Elf Archer turned her attention to the...orc. There was now only one, and it quickly figured that out. Squealing in fright, the orc trotted away.

_"Enjoying the show?" _

High Elf Archer blinked, realising that remark was directed at her. Sighing, she casually moved into view and stopped to lean on a tree with her arms crossed.

"Show off." She replied.

The armored man got up and into a kneeling position, using his tube to support him.

_"So, tell me, do you stalk people in your spare time, or do you need something?" _He asked.

She frowned. "Oh, please. Like you'd ever be my type. Anywho, I'm just trying to confirm you're not Orcbolg."

_"Well I'm not. And that's the fourth time I've told you." _

"Okay then, who are you?" High Elf Archer asked.

_"Nobody." _

The ranger smirked. "Hmm. Foreign?"

The armored man looked at her and stood up. He was pretty tall, not as tall as _him_.

_"I am __**not**__ Orcbolg. Stop asking me." _ He snapped.

"Yes, elf! You should know not to bug a man who is busy!" Dwarf Shaman said, coming out of the trees, as did Lizard Priest and Priestess.

High Elf Archer made a face.

The armored man looked at them. Though his helmet hid his face, they could imagine what his emotions might have been at the moment.

"I had nothing to do with them!" The elf exclaimed with her hands in the air.

"Forgive us, stranger." Lizard Priest began. "But on reflection of our current situation. We have determined that we are in need of your help."

The armored man nodded. "_Go ahead._"

"We are looking for someone who has not returned yet." Priestess explained.

_"Let me guess, Orcbolg?" _

Dwarf Shaman nodded. "He went on a quest according to the Guild secretary, and hasn't come back."

_"Hmm. That's too bad. Hope it goes well for him."_ The armored man replied, walking away.

"W-wait!" Priestess said, running after him.

Lizard Priest started to follow, but was stopped by the ranger of the group.

"I think Priestess might be able to convince him better."

Lizard Priest nodded.

"Please, stranger! We are sorry to disturb you, but Goblin Slayer could be in danger." Priestess pleaded with him.

_"Goblin Slayer?" _The man asked. _"I thought it was Orcbolg who was missing." _

"Orcbolg is the elven translation of Goblin Slayer." She explained. "May I ask your name, sir?"

The man stopped and looked at the girl. She was smaller than he remembered from the town. Her eyes glistened, as if she might cry if he continued to deny her his assistance.

_"They call me the Mandalorian."_

"What's a 'Nandadoroian'?" High Elf Archer asked as she bit into an apple.

_"__**Man**__dalorian. Or Mando for short." _Mandalorian corrected.

"Well, Sir Mandalorian, I beg you, please. We will pay you handsomely." Priestess said, staring into his visor.

There was a pause.

"_Let me get something from my ship."_ Mandalorian replied, walking into a clearing.

"You got here by boat?" High Elf Archer asked with a raised eyebrow.

Mandalorian hummed. _"Yeah, something like that."_

The group entered the clearing. A large metal contraption stood in the clearing. Imposing legs dug into the ground. A ramp slid down out of the side, and a door opened, steam pouring out.

Mandalorian turned to the group. _"I'll be right out."_

He walked up the steps and into the contraption.

….

The Mandalorian, of course, had no intention of going anywhere with these stalkers. He stored Norm's carbon-frozen body next to a collection of other crooks, and went to check on his charge, the foundling he had saved from the Empire.

Opening the compartment, he saw the familiar green creature. But something seemed wrong. His foundling was a little more rounded and fat. This creature was more skinny. And then it turned to show him its face.

"_What the hell is that?" _He asked nobody in particular.

Without warning, the creature lunged at him. Unprepared, the Mandalorian stumbled as the creature latched onto the back of his helmet. It started banging on it, chewing on it. Its teeth did little to the fine Beskar Steel that was to be expected clad on a Mandalorian, but if it stayed on his helmet any longer, it would surely find a way to kill him.

The Mandalorian grabbed the creature forcibly, attempting to pull it off his helmet. The creature reacted by biting his arm, a move that made him pull it back in pain.

The creature dropped to his back, still beating on his helmet. It started chewing on his jetpack.

"_Wait, no, don't play with tha-"_ He said quickly, but it was too late. The creature found the ignition chamber and caused it to activate.

The Mandalorian yelped as he shot out the door, onto the ground, the creature hanging on laughing like it was some sick game.

High Elf Archer jumped back as she saw the event.

"Are you okay, Sir Mandalorian?" Priestess asked, running up to him.

"_Gahh! Get this thing off me!" _Mandalorian shouted, pointing at the green creature, who had picked up a stone and was now bashing his helmet with it.

Priestess backed away at seeing it. "A goblin!"

"I will take care of it." Lizard Priest said, running over. He dug a small knife into the creature, killing it. "Here, let me help you up."

"I see you've met some of the local wildlife, Mando!" Dwarf Shaman chortled.

"_What was that thing?"_ Mandalorian asked.

"You don't know what goblins are?" High Elf Archer replied.

"_Goblins?"_

"Terrible creatures." Lizard Priest shuddered. "They kill and maim, pillage and rape. Take the women back to their caves to become breeders and playthings."

"_And do all of them have the same look?"_

"Yes."

"_Then we have a problem."_

"Not to fear. Me and my party, as well as the aforementioned Goblin Slayer, have dedicated ourselves to exterminating goblins." Lizard Priest reassured.

"_That's not what I meant."_ Mandalorian said. _"My foundling looks a lot like these goblins."_

"Your what?" High Elf Archer asked.

"_My...kid. My child."_

"Your child is a goblin?" Priestess said.

"_No. But he looks a lot like them. Chances are, these goblins mistook him for their own."_

"Hmm. That would be a problem. But we don't have a way of knowing where he could be." Lizard Priest said.

"_Well, I'm going to look for him."_ Mandalorian declared, running inside his ship and returning with a new tube strapped to his back alongside the other one.

"Wait!" Priestess called after him. He stopped.

"_What?"_

"Wouldn't you...I mean, maybe we should come along?" Priestess asked restrainedly.

"_No. I can take care of myself."_

"Oh, very funny dumbass." High Elf Archer scolded. "I don't know if you noticed, but one of them was enough to nearly bash your brains in."

"_I had it under control."_

"Bullshit." The elf retorted.

"Here's an idea." Dwarf Shaman spoke up. "Why don't you help us find Beardcutter, and in exchange, we help you find your young charge."

Mandalorian looked at him. _"Beardcutter?"_

"Orcbolg in Dwarven." High Elf Archer replied. "So whaddya say? Do we have a deal?"

"_Fine."_ Mandalorian said, walking over to the forest path.

"Sweet! A new party member! This is gonna be awesome!" High Elf Archer cheered.

Mandalorian turned and pointed his finger at her. _"I am __**not**__ your new party member. This is temporary."_

"Alright Mister Grumpy! Geez, you're like Orcbolg in that you care about business, but he was never really cranky about it." High Elf Archer complained.

"_I am __**not **__Orcbolg." _Mandalorian said.

"You so are." The ranger replied, smiling.

"_I am not."_

"Orcbolg, Orcbolg, Orcbolg!"

"_Shut up."_

"I think the elf just found a new poor soul to annoy." Dwarf Shaman whispered to Priestess, who giggled.

"I hope he's as good as Goblin Slayer." Priestess said.

"It might take some time for him to get used to it, but if he took out that horrible man, I'm sure goblins aren't far beyond his capacity." Dwarf Shaman replied.

**Later that night…**

"So anyways, when I came to, he was sitting on the chair, still holding the cup! Like nothing happened!"

Lizard Priest, Priestess, and High Elf Archer laughed at Dwarf Shaman's story.

He took another sip of fire wine. "Anywho, that's why they didn't allow us to drink while in the mines."

"Seems almost uncharacteristic for a dwarf." High Elf Archer remarked.

"It does, doesn't it?" Dwarf Shaman nodded, a rare agreement donning upon the two.

"Mandalorian, Sir. You haven't touched your stew. Is everything alright?" Lizard Priest asked.

"_Yes. I'm just keeping it warm until I can find a place to eat it."_ Mandalorian replied.

"Hmm, you don't like taking off your helmet, huh? Know who that sounds like? Orcbolg!" High Elf Archer teased.

"_Stop it."_

"I'm telling you, it's either him, or someone related to him." High Elf Archer said.

"_I'm not Orcbolg, and I'm not related to him."_

"So tell us, why can't you take off your helmet? Afraid of getting caught in an ambush?" She asked smugly.

"_Well, that's a factor, but for the most part, it's forbidden among my kind to show my face to others."_ Mandalorian replied.

"Your kind, they are also known as Mandalorian?" Lizard Priest asked.

"_Yes."_

"What makes them different from regular humans?" High Elf Archer added.

"_Nothing. Mandalorian isn't a race. It's a culture. A way of life."_ Mandalorian replied.

"Ahh, so like an order of, say, knights?" Dwarf Shaman asked.

"_Something like that."_

Priestess smiled. "So what are the rules of your order?"

"_It's complicated." _

"And you hunt bounties?" High Elf Archer replied.

"_Yes."_

"So, an absurd amount of training, to do a not-so-glamorous job. Orcbolg!"

Mandalorian turned to Lizard Priest. _"Can I shoot her? In, like, the foot?"_

"I don't see why not." Lizard Priest chuckled.

"Oh, haha. Very funny." High Elf Archer said. "Maybe you aren't like Orcbolg in that you have a stick up your ass."

"_That's not saying much coming from you."_ Mandalorian shot back.

Dwarf Shaman belted out in laughter. "My dear Mandalorian, you must tell me how you come up with these comebacks! I can hardly hold my own against the sheer stupidity of one elf!"

High Elf Archer stuck her tongue out at the dwarf.

"_Well, I'm going to go eat my stew now in private, if you don't mind." _Mandalorian said, standing up.

"Far be it from me to ruin tradition. Enjoy the meal." Lizard Priest replied.

High Elf Archer had a mischievous grin on her face, which Mandalorian immediately recognised.

"_If you follow me, I will actually shoot you in the foot."_

High Elf Archer pouted, and laid on her back. "Idiot. I just wanted a peek."

Dwarf Shaman leaned over to the ranger's side.

"Best to let him have his wishes. I'm sure there are elven customs that you wouldn't want broken."

"Yeah, but I don't threaten people over them." High Elf Archer mumbled.

"He's a bounty hunter, elf. In his line of work, you can't always afford to be humble." Dwarf Shaman reminded her.

"You think we could convince him to become an adventurer?" Priestess asked.

"Perhaps. Though maybe we should wait for him to return his quarry." Lizard Priest replied.

"Mmm, yes. Good on him for freeing our town, and our Guild. To Sir Mando!" Dwarf Shaman exclaimed, holding his cup up. Both Priestess and Lizard Priest willingly clanked their cups against his.

"Yeah, yeah, good for him." High Elf Archer said.

"What was that thing he said to us, back when we thanked him for it and he was talking about not becoming a legend?" Lizard Priest asked.

"Hmm, I think he said 'This is the way'." Priestess recalled.

"Wonder what that means. Maybe like a slogan for his whole warrior culture order thing." High Elf Archer guessed.

**Later the next morning…**

"_So this is the spot?"_ Mandalorian asked, scoping the entrance to the cave with his rifle.

"Yes. The quest leads to this cave. Supposedly, the goblins raided a farm, took some women, burnt the stocks, and killed everyone except one survivor, who reported it to the Guild. The day after, Goblin Slayer must have taken it." Priestess explained.

"_This might not be a good time to remind you that I have no clue how to even fight these things."_ Mandalorian said, switching to thermal and looking at the two goblins standing guard.

"It shouldn't be to hard. Just try to keep up, Orcbolg." High Elf Archer said, smirking and tapping his chest.

"_I am not Orcbolg."_

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." She giggled.

Dwarf Shaman shrugged at Mandalorian. "What can you do, eh? Elves. As annoying as they are flat."

The old man nudged him and pointed in the direction of the ranger's chest region.

The Mandalorian simply looked back at him in silence.

"Hmm, nevermind then." Dwarf Shaman nodded, walking over to a vantage point.

Mandalorian followed. They approached a clifftop, overlooking the cave.

High Elf Archer pulled out her bow and knocked an arrow.

"Hmm. I can take out the guards, but there's usually a third one on top. See him?" She asked.

Mandalorian aimed his rifle at the top, taking in the sight of a rather fat goblin, broken teeth adorning a permanent scowl.

"_Yes."_ He replied.

"Okay, you might need to take that one out. It's not gonna be within my range." High Elf Archer said.

"_Right. You shoot first?"_

"Mmhmm."

"_Whenever you're ready."_

High Elf Archer smiled. She wanted a chance to show Mandalorian her skills ever since he shot that orc. She pulled the string back, and squinted. Her breathing laboured, as she aimed at her targets.

Mandalorian kneeled down, putting a slug in his Amban rifle. He adjusted the scope to his liking, and focused the rather ugly looking thing.

"Now."

Her gloved hand released the string, and the arrow struck home, embedding itself inside the goblin's skull, and then the second goblin as well, spearing both against the side of the cave.

The third goblin, shocked, attempted to raise the alarm. In a flash, the screech was muffled to a yelp as it disintegrated into nothingness, leaving nothing but a battered dagger on the cave roof.

Lizard Priest, Dwarf Shaman, and Priestess were stunned.

"That was impressive."

"Thanks." High Elf Archer said, smirking. She turned to Mandalorian with a toothy grin. "You enjoying the show, _Orcbolg_?"

Mandalorian just simply walked down to the entrance. He pulled out his pistol and switched on his helmet flashlight, leading the group into the cave.

"Gee, leading us in the cave much, Orcbolg?" High Elf Archer asked.

"_When we find this 'Orcbolg', or 'Goblin Slayer', I'm gonna make sure he knows how much of a…" _Mandalorian stopped and shook his head. For someone who was known for not talking a lot, he was letting this get the better of him.

"How much of a what?" High Elf Archer repeated.

"_Forget it."_

"Hmm...gone silent on me, Orcbolg?"

Mandalorian just shook his head and advanced into the cave. They came to the entrance of a room in the cave. Mandalorian got into breaching position at the side, pulling out his other gun, an Imperial Repeater. He looked over to the group. Priestess held her nose, as did High Elf Archer and the other two. Unsure how to proceed, he whirled around from the side of the entrance and pointed his gun into the room. What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

There was blood and other bodily fluids spread out across the cave floor like a sick, twisted blanket. A girl, no less than 13, laid sprawled out across the floor, shaking in pure terror, cuts and bruises decorating her pale skin. She was blindfolded, and upon hearing footsteps, she broke out into a quiet sob.

Then came the screaming. Looking up to the source and aiming his repeater accordingly, he watched as a much older woman, with many of the same physical attributes as the girl, was being violated.

For a second, he was reminded of the fateful day when his home was attacked. And how he was saved by the Tribe.

_This is the way._

He let loose with the repeater, mowing down several goblins. The rest grabbed improvised weapons and attacked. He took out his rifle in one hand and pistol in the other, using the rifle's shock-bayonet. Shooting one goblin in the stomach, he speared another with his rifle, electrocuting it to death. It seemed small jolts were enough to incapacitate these creatures. But from what he saw, they didn't deserve that. They deserved death.

Lizard Priest jumped into the fray, slicing the nearest goblin with his sword.

"So now you see, Sir Mandalorian, why we hunt these creatures." He said, cutting goblins down left and right.

_"Yes." _Was all Mandalorian could muster in his silent bloodlust.

He switched back to the repeater as Dwarf Shaman and High Elf Archer moved in to support.

A whole crowd was now charging at them.

_"Get behind me." _Mandalorian said.

"Huh. Giving orders now, are we?" High Elf Archer asked, doing as he instructed.

He held onto his wrist and pointed it at the crowd. A plume of flame shot from it, incinerating the crowd. Most were dead on the spot, falling down in charred messes, others crawled on the floor, barely alive. Mandalorian walked down the room, occasionally shooting a still-living goblin with his pistol.

His cape flapped lightly as the drafts caused by the fire lifted it up slightly.

"Well, I think that's all of them." High Elf Archer said. "Nice work…Mando."

Mandalorian looked over at her and nodded.

"Or should I call you Orcbolg?" She asked, giggling.

"No."

Everyone turned over to a small hole in the cave room. A man in dirty, smelly armor walked out. His helmet was messy and bulky, compared to Mandalorian's personalized Beskar Steel helmet. His sword, rusty and blunt when compared to the elegant and deadly Alban rifle strapped to the other's back.

"I believe that is what you call me."

High Elf Archer's eyes widened. Priestess gasped and smiled.

Mandalorian looked at the party members around him, staring in awe at the rusty suit of armor. He then turned to the man.

_"You must be Goblin Slayer." _

"Yes."

"Do you know…?"

"What?"

_"Is there any way to shut her up?" _

"Hey!"

"Not that I'm aware of, I'm afraid."

_"That's too bad." _

"Yes."

"Oh, nice to see you too, asshole!"

**End of chapter**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

"How many did you kill so far?" Goblin Slayer asked the group.

Mandalorian looked at the charred bodies, then back at the newcomer. _"Should I have been keeping track?"_

"Not necessarily. But it will give you an idea of how big the nest would be, and if there is potential for abnormals." Goblin Slayer explained.

"_Abnormals?"_

"Shamans, Hobs, Lords, or Champions." Goblin Slayer replied. "They have special traits that set them apart from the average goblin."

"_I'm still not sure what would set them apart."_ Mandalorian said.

"You'll have to forgive Mandalorian, Orcbolg." High Elf Archer added, stepping in. "He didn't know what goblins were until yesterday."

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer asked. His helmet turned to Mandalorian inquisitively.

"But, trust us, Mando. If you see an abnormal, you'll definitely know what we're talking about." High Elf Archer told him.

"_Okay then."_

"Now then, now that that's settled…" She began, before walking up to Goblin Slayer and punching him in the back.

"Hnng. What was that for?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"What do you think, Orcbolg? Do you have any idea how worried we were?" High Elf Archer scolded. "Oh, nono, but I'm getting ahead of myself. **First** of all, why did you take another quest without us?"

"It was a small nest." Goblin Slayer stated.

Mandalorian took a moment to look around at the thirty or so charred remains of the creatures.

"Or at least that's what I had thought." He continued. "I managed to trap myself in their storage room, using their food to survive overnight."

"Do you need any healing?" Priestess spoke up.

"I don't think so."

"You don't think so?" She asked. "You already misused your judgement once! How can you expect to know what condition you're in?"

The girl ran over and began chanting some kind of spell. Mandalorian, seeing the party having its leader back, stood to the side and observed his surroundings. It was possible the foundling had gotten this far, but he was not so sure. Surely the screams of women being brutally raped was enough to ward it off, unless of course the goblins had simply chained it somewhere.

Priestess had finished her miracle, and Goblin Slayer nodded as a way of thanks.

"Ahem. Aren't you forgetting something?" High Elf Archer asked expectantly.

"Yes." Goblin Slayer said, walking over to a familiar chair made of bones and kicking it over. High Elf Archer's face showed that was not the answer she was looking for.

"_What's under there?"_ Mandalorian asked.

"Goblin children."

Mandalorian's helmet tipped to the side.

Lizard Priest and Priestess looked at him, nodding.

"Er, Beardcutter, Mandalorian agreed to assist us for a favor." Dwarf Shaman said.

"And what did you want?" Goblin Slayer asked, turning to the person in question.

"_My kid. He...looks a lot like these goblins."_ Mandalorian explained.

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer said.

"_Yes."_

"Well then, you are welcome to take a look."

"_Thanks."_

Mandalorian walked over to the pit and inspected the group of children, huddled up in a corner. He pulled out a strange device that beeped every couple seconds.

"_I don't see it." _He said, sounding rather disappointed. _"Tracking beacon's coming up negative."_

"I see." Goblin Slayer replied.

Mandalorian stood back up and walked over to his previous position. Priestess approached him.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll find it." She said in an attempt to comfort him.

Mandalorian simply stayed silent, not in a mood to converse. Priestess sighed and turned around, but then turned back eyes squinted, as she saw Goblin Slayer doing his thing.

The room was silent, except for the squeals of goblin children. Mandalorian paid no attention, eyeing the path that lead to the entrance.

"I'm finished." Goblin Slayer said, standing up and walking to the entrance.

"Well, I guess we should go now." High Elf Archer spoke up.

The group followed. Mandalorian took one last look in the cave, sighed, and started walking. Then he turned back. A glint of light caught his eye.

"_Wait."_ He said.

Priestess stopped. "Hm? What is it?"

"_I see something."_ He said, walking over to the shine. He picked the object up. A necklace with a symbol attached to it, a strange skull with horns coming out of it.

"_Beskar Steel. You can recognise the glint a mile away."_ He remarked.

"So, does that mean he's here?" Priestess asked.

"_Yes."_

He walked out of the cave and turned to Goblin Slayer. _"Where is the storeroom you were in?"_

"In the right corner of the room we were in."

"_Thanks."_

Mandalorian ran into said room, fixing his eyes on a familiar egg-shaped cradle that was hovering.

Goblin Slayer walked in and saw the object. "Oh yes. I forgot about that."

High Elf Archer gave him a look. "You forgot about the giant floating egg?"

Mandalorian pressed a button on his wrist and the egg opened. The group leaned in to see what Mandalorian's child was.

"Oh, my. Mandalorian, how adorable it is!" Priestess exclaimed. "May I?"

It was not in any capacity a goblin. Its eyes were warm and comforting, where a goblin's eyes were cold and hateful. It's head was smooth and rounded, where a goblin's was saggy and covered in warts.

"_Sure."_ He replied.

Priestess picked it up, and it cooed at her. She gazed adoringly.

"Hmm, didn't realise you had such a soft spot, Mandalorian." High Elf Archer remarked.

"Yes indeed. It seems to be in good health." Lizard Priest agreed.

"_The cradle has scratches on it." _Mando observed. _"It must have figured out how to activate the locking mechanism."_

"The goblins may have realised it was not one of their own and tried to kill it." Goblin Slayer added.

"Oh, dear. There's a small cut on its forehead." Priestess said, looking at the creature. She saw Mandalorian's fist tighten for a moment.

"_I'll take care of it." _He said, pulling out a small green canister. He leaned over and sprayed some liquid on the creature's forehead.

"_It should heal up in a couple minutes."_ He told the group.

"Hm, so tell us, Mando." Dwarf Shaman said. "How did you come across this peculiar child? I mean, you are obviously not of the same race."

"_It's complicated."_ Mandalorian replied.

Priestess put the creature down. "Well, I certainly think it's a relief to see that not all small green creatures are bad. How about you, Goblin Slayer?"

"I suppose so." He replied.

They walked out of the cave, with the cradle hovering close next to Mandalorian.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways, Mandalorian." Dwarf Shaman said.

"Yes. It was an honor to fight by your side." Lizard Priest added, bowing respectively.

Mandalorian looked at the party. He had been looking for a place to lay low, away from the influences of gangs, Imperial warlords, and the like. Maybe this was his chance. Everybody seemed genuine, unlike the usual backstabbing scoundrels he was used to.

"_I might be staying."_

"I see."

"Huh. And you said it was temporary." High Elf Archer replied smirking.

"_Maybe. First I should return my bounty. Norm's in league with the Black Sun Pirates. The sooner I get him back to where he belongs, the sooner I can worry less about them chasing me."_

**Later the next day…**

Guild Girl hummed to herself, stacking papers on shelves. Her co-worker was busy fitting the new crest of the Adventurer's Guild to the entrance. The Guild had decided a little rebranding was in order after the liberation of the town and being reunited with the Frontier. She never did get to thank the mysterious armored man that dragged away the tyrant who had put a knife to her throat more than once.

The door opened, and Guild Girl nearly dropped her papers.

"Look who we found!" High Elf Archer said, patting the armored man's back.

"Goblin Slayer!"

"I'm back."

She blinked. "W-No kidding you're back! What happened?"

"It was a complication." Goblin Slayer explained.

"He locked himself in a storage room for an entire night." High Elf Archer deadpanned to her, shaking her head.

Guild Girl sighed. "You really are a piece of work."

"Is that so?"

The door opened. A redheaded girl walked casually inside, then stopped.

"Oh, you're back?"

"Yes."

The redhead walked over and hummed. "You know, it can be a little worrying when you just leave for 4 days without saying anything."

"Hnng. Sorry." Goblin Slayer replied.

"No trouble. As long as you're alright." She said, smiling. "Welcome home."

He walked over to the counter. "Goblins?"

Guild Girl sighed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You still need to file the report, and you should probably get some rest, preferably in your bed as opposed to a cave floor."

"I wasn't sleeping though." Goblin Slayer replied. "In case the goblins managed to break in, I had to stay overnight."

Guild Girl rolled her eyes. "Even more of a reason to do so! Did you not remember what we talked about with taking care of yourself?"

"I had plenty of food and water."

The door opened forcibly. Guild Girl looked over and dropped her papers again.

"Hey! You're back, Mando!" High Elf Archer said.

The armored warrior in question looked around. The Guild hall was quiet.

Spearman walked over. "Hey! You're the saviour of our town! Welcome back!"

Mandalorian said nothing, his helmet looking past towards the front desk.

Cow Girl stared inquisitively at the man. "Saviour?"

Spearman turned to her. "Yes. This man saved our town and Guild. He single handedly defeated both of our captor's enforcers, then took him away."

Cow Girl blinked. "Wow. Really?"

"You tell them, sir." Spearman said, nudging him.

Mandalorian looked at Spearman, then at the crowd in front of him.

"_Just doing my job."_

Guild Girl walked over, smiling professionally at him. "Well, on behalf of the Adventurer's Guild, thank you for doing your job."

Mandalorian nodded in acceptance. He turned around and started walking.

"W-Wait!" Priestess said, walking over.

He turned to regard her.

She felt a little uneasy, as he stared her down.

"What about...maybe…" She put a hand to her cheek. "Um…it's just...weren't you going to join the Guild?"

"_I don't recall."_ Mandalorian replied.

"Why not? It's a blast! You get to hang out with us and do quests for money!" High Elf Archer asked.

"And you'll be welcomed with open arms, friend!" Spearman added.

Guild Girl nodded. "For sure!"

"I, for one, would be honored to fight by your side again." Lizard Priest said, cupping his hands in prayer.

"And your gear is just perfect for our type of quests! Don't you agree, Beardcutter?"

"I suppose."

"_But…"_

"No buts, just do it, Mando!" High Elf Archer replied.

The halls erupted with the sounds of "Do it, Mando!"

"_I already belong to a guild."_ Mandalorian said.

"That's fine! We don't require you to be in only one guild!" Guild Girl replied.

Mandalorian considered his situation. He had everything back. His kid, his bounty money, his ship, everything. But, it just didn't feel right to leave. Something inside him felt this was his new home. And it wasn't like he couldn't leave to do work for his other Guild. He also considered simply staying but not joining the Guild.

_She would never let me hear the end of that._ He thought, considering the elf's reaction.

"_Very well. If you'll have me, I accept."_

The Guild hall erupted in cheers.

"Excellent. Please follow me to the desk. I'll help you fill out the form." Guild Girl said, walking over.

"_One more thing."_ Mandalorian said, walking up to the desk.

Guild Girl looked up, ready to hear what he had to say.

"_The two enforcers I faced the other day, they're only a fraction of Norm's enforcers. There's nine in total, and I've been contracted to find and deliver them all by my other Guild."_

"I can try to get some information on that from the town guard. My understanding is that many of them escaped elsewhere into the Frontier, but we don't know much about them, other than they just attacked us out of nowhere." Guild Girl replied.

"_That's fine. With the equipment they're carrying, someone is bound to notice. Let me know if the Guild or the town guard receives any reports of suspicious characters."_ Mandalorian instructed.

"Of course, I can do that for you." Guild Girl replied.

"_Thanks." _Mandalorian said. He slid his form over. _"I finished."_

"Excellent. Here's your Adventurer's tag. It allows us to identify you and it will show your rank. There's 10 ranks, you start at porcelain and go up from there to obsidian, then steel, sapphire, emerald, ruby, bronze, silver, gold, and platinum." She explained, giving him the tag. "Make sure you don't lose it."

_"Understood. Does this Guild do bounties?" _

Guild Girl pointed to a board. "The bounty board has all sorts of bounties for you to choose. Keep in mind, while bounties give you more rewards, as they are usually requested by nobles, and there are no rank requirements, you cannot be promoted by doing them."

_"So you need to do quests?" _Mandalorian asked.

Guild Girl nodded.

_"Alright. I'll go take a look."_ He said, walking to the quest board. Obviously, the rewards were not going to be anything he needed. But, if he found a decent refinery, he could sell the gold for credits. But the rewards for beginner's quests were sub-par to say the least.

Getting an idea, he took a paper from the quest board and compared it to the papers on the bounty board. Finding one, he took it and walked back to the desk.

_"I'll take care of these sewer rats, then pick up this guy on the way back." _He said, putting the two papers on the desk.

Guild Girl grinned. "I had a feeling you might do something like that. Fair play, Mister Mandalorian. Fair play."

She scribbled some details onto the papers and did her thing.

"You can deliver the bounty here, just make sure he's a degree of incapacitated. We had an...incident."

_"Cold it is." _Mandalorian noted. He walked out the door.

High Elf Archer leaned on the desk. "What did I tell you? He's literally just like Orcbolg!"

Guild Girl let out a hearty laugh. "He sure does remind me of him." She stared at the Goblin Slayer, sipping tea through his helmet.

The door opened again. Mandalorian took a couple steps in and pointed at the two.

_"I am __**not **__Orcbolg! Shut up!" _He snapped, before turning around and walking back out.

Goblin Slayer stared at the shut door in confusion, while High Elf Archer and Guild Girl burst out laughing.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

A cloaked man backed into the wall.

"S-stay back!" He yelled. But the three goblins did not listen to him.

He grabbed his dagger tightly and thrust it into one of them, killing it. The rest of the goblins screeched in anger for the death of their kin.

The man stumbled over and covered his head, preparing for the worst.

A sword dug through one of the goblin's skulls.

"Huh?" He said incredulously.

The second goblin turned around, only to have an arrow imbed in its unprotected chest, which caused it to fall over on top of the man, dead.

The man squirmed under the goblin, before the goblin was lifted up, and the man looked up at his saviour.

"Are you alright?"

The small blonde girl instantly made him forget all his troubles and he smiled.

"Yes, yes, just fine. Thank you, my dear." He said, standing up.

Priestess smiled at the man. "Do you need any healing?"

"No, no, I think I'll be fine. Thank you." He replied.

The man turned to Goblin Slayer, who was getting his sword out of the goblin.

"Ah, the famed Goblin Slayer! I knew there was a reason you were known as the Frontier's Kindest!" He exclaimed.

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"Yeah, don't let that title get worn out or anything." High Elf Archer said, smiling.

Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman walked into view.

The man seemed a little disappointed by the increasing number of saviours.

"Forgive me." He said, chuckling lightly. "But it seems like such a large party for such a small prey."

"Goblins tend to have strength in numbers, stranger." Lizard Priest replied. "We like to follow that example, to an extent."

The man nodded. "Of course, I shall leave the strategies to the humble Adventurers."

"Did you see any more?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"Not that I'm aware of." He replied nonchalantly.

"Well, I suppose we'll be on our way then, since this nest is cleared." Dwarf Shaman said, smiling at the stranger."Stay safe."

"Oh, would it be alright if I came along back to the Guild?" The stranger asked. "I have some business with them."

Dwarf Shaman's eyes lit up, and he shrugged and looked over to Goblin Slayer.

"Sure. I guess." Came the reply.

"Ah, thank you deeply, Adventurers." The man said, bowing.

High Elf Archer's eyes lit up. "I hear footsteps coming."

The party turned to the sound. It was getting closer, possibly coming in through the entrance.

A padded boot stuck out from the entryway, and the figure came into view.

"Oh, it's just Mando. Sup Mando?" High Elf Archer greeted.

"Do you need something?" Goblin Slayer asked.

Mandalorian said nothing, instead walking to the man in the hood.

The two stood in silence for a minute, before the hooded man spoke up.

"Uh...can I help you, sir?"

Mandalorian slowly drew his pistol and pointed it at the man.

All of the party members aside from Goblin Slayer were taken aback, as they knew what the device was capable of.

Mandalorian then put his other hand into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper, holding it so the man could see it. The man flinched upon seeing it.

"Hmm, what do you have there, Sir Mandalorian?" Lizard Priest asked. "Would you mind if we indulged our curiosites?"

Mandalorian held the paper out to give to Lizard Priest, not moving his head or pistol. Lizard Priest accepted the paper and scanned it. The rest of the party, save Goblin Slayer, leaned in to look.

"'Exile Monk. Wanted for theft, murder, and rape of Temple of the Law acolyte. Reward: 40,000 gold coins.'"

"Geez, requested by the Archbishop Sword Maiden herself?" High Elf Archer asked. "Impressive for a porcelain, Mando. Gonna keep those coins for yourself by the way?"

Mandalorian said nothing still, instead pressing a button on his wrist. A black rectangle hovered behind him.

"I would recommend following Sir Mandalorian to prevent any unwanted consequences, stranger." Dwarf Shaman cautioned the monk.

"Right. Right. So, what'll it be, Mando?" The man asked.

_"Get in there." _Mandalorian said, pointing at the rectangle.

"That? What is that, a coffin?" The monk asked.

Mandalorian shot the wall above his head and the monk jolted.

_"It will be if you don't do what I say." _He replied.

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" The monk exclaimed, walking over to the rectangle and getting in.

"So is this some kind of bed or something?" He asked.

"_Something like that."_

**Later that day…**

Cow Girl tossed another load of hay into the barn, wiping the sweat off her forehead. It was a particularly hot day, and despite her best efforts to stay cool, she was feeling the temperature rising in her body pretty quickly. She grabbed a canteen of water sitting on her uncle's toolbox and took a swig. The water wasn't much more refreshing to say the least, it was warmed up by the summer heat.

Her ears perked up. A strange roaring sound in the distance. She turned to see a man, wrinkly with locks of flesh down his head. He was on some type of mount that roared like a lion, and went twice as fast.

He pulled out a gray cylinder and tossed it into the air, shooting it. Smoke dispensed from it, creating a thick cloud covering the road. The man then shot into the smoke. A hiss was heard, and another mount carrying Mandalorian sped out of the cloud.

The man laughed and shot the front of Mando's mount, causing it to leer to the side and topple, throwing the bounty hunter off the ride. He rolled down the road, grunting with each 180.

Cow Girl looked in horror, then bolted for the downed Mando.

She quickly skidded to a stop and knelt down. "Mister Mando, are you okay?"

No response.

She shook him. "Mister Mando!"

Finally, a gloved hand reached up to his helmet and grabbed the back of it.

_"Ow." _

Cow Girl sighed and helped him up. "That was quite the fall, sir."

"_Yeah. Don't worry about it." _Mando replied, clutching his side.

The man's speeder skidded to a halt ahead of them, at the entrance to the forest.

"And they said you was the best in the parsec!" He yelled. "What a joke!"

Mando grunted and pulled out his pistol, blasting the man's gun out of his hand.

"Why you…" The man scolded. He grit his teeth and pulled out an A280.

"_Get down!" _Mando shouted, tackling Cow Girl to the ground. The blaster bolts hit his Beskar cuirass, causing him to twitch from the kinetic impact.

"Well, it's been fun, Mando!" The man shouted, pulling out a gray sphere with a red dot on the top.

He threw it over, but Mando blasted it, causing a fiery explosion in the air.

The man's mount started back up, and he sped off, leaving the two.

"_Damned Weequays. Do you have any mounts I can borrow?"_ Mando asked, determined to keep the chase.

Cow nodded. "In the barn."

"_Thanks."_ Mando replied, rushing to the barn and selecting a white stallion. He and the stallion galloped out, leaving Cow Girl standing there.

The Weequay on the speeder turned around upon hearing the clopping noises. He rolled his eyes and turned around. "Back again, are we? You just won't-"

Mando stopped his taunts by shooting a wire at the speeder.

The Weequay noticed the attempt. He shrugged at the bounty hunter with a smug grin.

"You have got to be the worst…" He looked down to hear a beeping noise. The beeping noise got louder and quicker. A black disc with a red light in the middle was visible on his speeder engine.

His eyes widened and he jumped off the speeder, sustaining multiple cuts and bruises. The speeder rammed right into a tree, exploding on impact.

The Weequay groaned in pain and sat up. Mandalorian had his horse stop in front of him, pistol aimed at his head.

_"Don't bother."_ He said.

"Ahh, blasted Mando. You could have killed me back there. Bounty would be useless." The Weequay spat.

_"Pull out the rifle and toss it in front of my mount."_ Mando instructed.

The Weequay grumbled, fumbling the sling and throwing the rifle on the ground. "Yeah, yeah. I prefer hot, by the way."

Mando dismounted and took the rifle.

_"Dispose of any other weapons immediately. Make it slow." _He continued.

The Weequay did nothing. "That's all I had, Mando."

Mandalorian sighed and dug into the Weequay's jacket, pulling out a blaster pistol. He then smacked him across the head with it.

_"You want to go in cold?! What else do you have?" _

The Weequay reluctantly stripped his arsenal. "What a sourpuss you are, eh?"

Mando said nothing, placing cuffs on the Weequay and hoisting him up on the horse.

They rode back to the farm.

"You got him!" Cow Girl said, smiling.

_"Yes. Thank you for the help." _Mando replied.

"No problem. Always nice to meet other adventurers." Cow Girl said.

"Aww, what a nice heart to heart. Why don't you two kiss and then piss off?"

Mandalorian elbowed the Weequay's chest.

_"Here. A little something for letting me borrow the mount." _Mando said, tossing her a bag of shining coins.

"A **little**? Mister Mando, this is a huge amount!" Cow Girl replied.

_"You probably need it more than I do." _Mando assured her. He got back onto his speeder with the Weequay.

Cow Girl eyed the bounty hunter with interest.

"What a character."

**Later that day…**

Guild Girl looked sympathetically at the two porcelain ranks

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do outside of wishing you the best of luck." She said softly.

"B-but, without our third, we don't have a single chance!" A woman holding a leafy staff exclaimed.

"Please, isn't there anything?" A boy holding a crossbow asked.

Guild Girl put a hand to her chin in thought. "Erm, maybe you could ask someone to accompany you?"

"Like who?" The boy replied.

"Hmmm…" Guild Girl thought for a moment. All the higher ranks that would be willing to help were off on quests of their own. It would have to come from another porcelain...

The door opened, and Mandalorian walked inside, followed by a black rectangle.

"Oh, hello, Mister Mandalorian." Guild Girl greeted. As much as two weeks had passed, and already she had grown quite fond of him. Though his mannerisms were like that of her other acquaintance, he showed a degree of street smarts that Goblin Slayer didn't possess. Mandalorian, like Goblin Slayer, also preferred quantity and efficiency over quality, to a degree. It wasn't rare that he would take the maximum allowed number of quests, 4, and however many bounties he had room for, only to complete it all within a couple of hours at the most.

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that he was a replacement. It wasn't anything against Mando, but she preferred the worn battered metal armor Goblin Slayer wore as opposed to Mandalorian's exquisite shiny armor, which he had referred to more than once as Beskar.

Mando walked over, and the floating rectangle followed him.

"Did you find that eyewitness report sufficient?" She asked.

"_Yes. Thank you for the information."_ He replied. He tossed a bag of coins onto the desk. _"Here's something for your efforts."_

Guild Girl shook her head. "Oh, I-I can't, I'm sorry. It's not necessary, and honestly, I'm already rewarded by watching you take those horrible men away."

She handed him back the bag.

"_Alright then. How's the kid?"_ He asked.

"Doing fine! He was sleeping mostly, but he definitely likes to move around." She said, eyeing the egg-shaped cradle. "Bit of a troublemaker, but nothing I can't handle."

She leaned in.

"My coworker absolutely loves him." She whispered.

From inside the desk area, a brunette girl around Guild Girl's age smiled into the cradle and waved.

"_Thanks. Here, I-"_ He began, putting some coins at the table, but Guild Girl put a hand on them and pushed his hand away.

"Stop!" She chuckled. "I really don't need payment. Really."

"_Hmm. Alright then." _He said.

"Although…" Guild Girl began, putting a hand to her chin in thought. "He has been taking many adventurers off-guard."

"_Understandable. If anyone has any issues, let me know. I'll take care of it." _Mandalorian replied.

"So, the bounty?" Guild Girl asked.

Mandalorian pressed a button on his wrist. The rectangle stood up, and both the girl and boy jumped in shock. The petrified body of a hooded man laid inside it, his expression was one of shock and terror.

"_He'll be blind and unable to stand without support for about 4 hours." _Mandalorian informed her.

"Fine by me. Don't need this creep seeing anything for a while." Guild Girl nodded.

He pushed another button. The gray substance coating the man glowed red, before disappearing. The man fell down to his knees, shivering. A burly man with chainmail on his chest picked the man up and brought him into the back of the Guild.

"And the rats?" She asked.

"_Done. I detonated a remote explosive attached to a canister of Womp-X. It doesn't contaminate the water and will dissipate after 2 hours."_

"Good. Because I still have nightmares about the white phosphorus." Guild Girl sighed.

"_I told them to flush the system and use an alternate source for some time."_ Mandalorian said. _"If they chose not to listen to instructions, it's not my responsibility."_

"Yes, I know. Which is why I chose not to cost that against you for the promotion exam. Happening in 3 days, by the way. Don't forget." Guild Girl replied. She handed him his rewards, a bag of coins and a slip of paper.

"Present this to the town banker. They'll get you the 40,000 coins stored in the Guild's account."

"_Of course."_ Mandalorian nodded. _"I'll be in my ship, if anyone calls for me, send them there."_

"As always." Guild Girl waved.

Mandalorian turned around, his cape dragged behind him as he walked away. The egg cradle hovered out of the desk area and out the door.

"Hmm. Maybe we could ask him?" The girl asked.

"Maybe. I don't know how he feels about quests with others." Guild Girl replied. "If I know his type well enough though, he'll want a price attached."

"We don't have the money…" The boy said, rubbing his head.

"Hmm...Well, here's another idea…"

**Scene transition…**

Mando sat down at his weapons locker, eyeing the A280 he had acquired from the enforcer. He had been looking to get one for a while, but never got around to it.

He inspected the bore, then moved to the barrel. It was badly kept by its previous owner. Mando was surprised it had managed to fire at this rate. He'd need to make some home repairs, and clean it.

Putting the New Republic Military's choice of blaster rifle in the prepared spot he had arranged, Mando went to work on his Amban rifle, polishing the stock with a homemade solution.

The sound of the door to the outside being knocked on did little to draw his attention from his work, acknowledging the knock only with a _"Come in."_

The door slid open, and the two young adventurers from before walked in cautiously, eyeing the otherworldly interior. They looked over to Mandalorian, who was disassembling a blaster pistol.

"_Can I help you?"_ He asked.

The girl swallowed hard. "Erm, we were wondering if you could maybe help us?"

"That's literally what he asked." The boy deadpanned. The girl elbowed him.

"We're having our promotion exam in a week, see, and we want to do a quest for our level that is the most difficult, so we will have a good chance." The girl continued.

"_Understandable."_ The bounty hunter replied, shining a light at one of the pistol parts.

"O-Oh, I'm Druid, by the way. That's Marksman." She introduced. "Probably should've started with that."

Mandalorian said nothing, instead using an airbrush to clean the pistol part.

"S-so, we were wondering if you could help us. We had an attacker, but he decided to leave our party to join some other person's party." Marksman said.

At this, Mando's head tipped halfway towards the two. _"He left?" _

"Yeah. Called us dead weight and said we should just become ranch hands or something like that." Marksman replied, lowering his head. "He left to join a more popular party within the Guild. Run by some prick who got demoted for falsely accusing someone of stealing a treasure chest, but somehow everyone still thinks he's hot shit."

"_What's the job?"_ Mandalorian asked.

"Pixie gargoyles." Marksman replied. "Fast and ferocious. Kinda like goblins, numbers are their weapon. But they're not as smart as one for sure."

"_Alright. What's the pay?"_ Mando asked.

"Well, we don't have any money ourselves, but we'll give you a percentage of the quest reward." Druid said.

"_Alright. 50 percent and it's a deal."_ Mandalorian replied.

"Woah, woah, f-fifty?" Marksman asked incredulously. "C'mon, man, this is a 3-way-split, can't you just take an even cut?"

"_No, because I'll be doing most of the work."_ Mando said, putting his pistol back together.

"Oh, don't try that BS. Come on, we've got skills too! And those things fly in massive numbers!" Marksman shot back.

Mando paused in thought, remembering how Guild Girl didn't accept his payment for her services. _"Forty percent. No less."_

"Like that's any-" Marksman began, but was cut off when Druid put her hand over his mouth.

"Deal." She said.

"_Alright then…"_ Mando said, grabbing his rifle and standing up. _"Let's go hunting."_

**End of chapter**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Changed the ending because I felt as though Mando was more of a lone wolf that revisits acquaintances sort of person. **

Marksman sighed and tossed another pebble at the tree.

"When did Mando say he was gonna be back here?" He asked.

Druid shrugged. "How should I know? He didn't say anything to me about what time, he just said, _'I have to go. Wait for me here. Nuuh!'_"

"Well, guess we'll just wait." Marksman said, resting his head on his elbow.

Druid nodded.

There was a long pause.

"So...uh, got any new spells?" Marksman asked.

"Nah, not really." Druid replied. "But apparently I got a healing boost."

"What about that cool Treant summoning spell?" Marksman asked.

Druid snorted. "What is it with you and Treants?"

"I dunno. They seem cool." Marksman said. He fiddled with the strings on his crossbow. "You're lucky you get new stuff. I'm just stuck with this thing. Anything else is just too expensive."

"I still have to pay for tutors, you know." Druid replied in a miffed tone.

"Yeah, true." Marksman said. "So, did you get the-"

"No, I did not." Druid interrupted, tousling her white hair. "And I probably won't have it tomorrow, or the day after, or the day after that."

Marksman smiled. "What about the day aft-"

"Oh my gods, shut up."

Marksman moved his head back and forth. He looked over to Druid, who was inspecting her staff.

He scanned out the forest. Taking notice of a rabbit, he smiled. He aimed his crossbow at it and pulled the string back. Loading an arrow into it, he aimed down sights and pulled the trigger. The arrow embedded...in a tree.

Druid chuckled. "Nice aim, doofus."

"Yeah, well I bet you would've thrown a fit if I had hit it." Marksman retorted.

"Why's that?" She asked.

"Well, y'know, you're of a uh…Elven persuasion? Like, close to nature and all that?" Marksman said.

"One: I'm not an elf. Two: Just because you're close to nature doesn't mean you have to be a vegetarian." Druid stated.

"Oh...really?" Marksman asked.

"Yeah, really. And even if I was, why be a self-righteous bitch about it?" Druid replied.

"I can see that." Marksman nodded.

"Also, I'd have to give up the pork chops Miss Padfoot makes." Druid said.

"Mmmm, she does have a way with them animal carcasses." Marksman remarked.

Druid gave him a look. "Okay, now you're just making it weird."

Marksman's ears perked up at the sound of a strange rumbling noise. He looked up. "HOLY-"

He almost fell off the rock he was sitting on, regaining his balance.

"That...that's something I will never not see." Druid said, gazing in wonder at what the two had thought was simply Mandalorian's house.

The ship's legs kicked out, digging into the soil. A platform elevated to the ground, powered by four pistons. Mando was on the platform, mounted on a speeder, next to two other speeders.

"Woah! That's some entrance! Where do I get one?" Marksman asked.

"_Nowhere around here, that's for sure."_ Mandalorian replied. _"Mount up. We'll move out. I have the coordinates set." _

"Shouldn't we learn how to use these things first?" Druid asked, lifting her leg over the seat.

"_Don't worry. I got the slowest ones I could find. You'll get the hang of it."_

**Later that day…**

"GAAAAHHH!" Marksman screamed, as his speeder narrowly dodged a tree. "I am NOT getting the hang of this!"

"_Calm down! You're doing fine!" _Mandalorian reassured him. _"Just keep your eyes on the road and lean to turn. Not too much though. It'll tip the speeder over."_

"Right, right." Marksman stammered, and did what he could to regain control.

Druid shook her head and turned to Mando. "He's a natural."

"_Says the girl who was too scared to even start hers."_ Mandalorian retorted.

"I call it caution." Druid hummed. "And besides, I was fine after."

Mando's wrist beeped. _"We're approaching the site. You remember how to stop?"_

"Sure, sure." Druid said, pushing her speeder gear backwards. The speeder slowed to a stop, as did Mandalorian's. They had arrived at a heavily wooded bog, the ground was sopping wet, and a purple muck stuck to the bottom of Druid's boots.

Marksman stopped his behind the two. "Whew. I need some more practice."

"_Later. What's your armament?" _Mandalorian asked the two.

"Armament?" Druid asked.

"Weapons. What weapons do you have?" He clarified.

"Well…" Marksman began, taking out his crossbow. "She ain't pretty, but she gets the job done, that's for sure."

"_Hmm, single shot." _Mandalorian observed. _"Manual loading system. Inefficient."_

"Well sure, but it'll pack a punch." Marksman replied.

"_Irrelevant. Our enemy attacks in numbers. Take this."_ Mandalorian said, tossing him a rifle.

"What's this?" Marksman asked, looking at the black outline.

"_E-11 Blaster rifle. Automatic firing. Standard issue for Imperial Remnant Stormtroopers."_ Mandalorian explained.

"I have zero clue what that means." Marksman replied.

Mandalorian pointed to the scope. _"See through that, trigger's there, arrows come out of there."_

Marksman inspected the places where Mandalorian pointed. "Oh, so it's like some sort of advanced crossbow?"

"_Something like that."_ Mando said. "What about you?"

Druid looked over. "I'm a Druid, so spells are my specialty."

"_Have anything for crowd control?"_ Mando asked.

"Hmmm...Flora's Wrath is pretty good, but it's not very powerful. It can stun the target though."

"_Perfect. Alright. Here's the plan. We go in. Me first, then Druid, then Marksman. I'll attack the front, Marksman, pick off stragglers. Druid, use your spells on any that get too close."_

"Got it. Ready when you are, chief." Druid replied, smiling.

They started to walk into the bog, eyeing any potential winged creatures.

"I don't hear anything." Druid whispered. "Usually the gargoyles are up at this hour."

Marksman licked his lips in concentration, eyeing through the E-11's sight. His finger toyed with a dial attached to it, and blinked as the rock he viewed was much larger through the scope. Adjusting the dial backwards, the rock became smaller.

"Huh, cool. This thing zooms in." Marksman remarked. He zoomed in and out again and again. Zooming out for the final time, he was greeted with the sight of a dark purple face, wrinkled and angry.

"Woah! Gargoyle! There!" He said, pointing.

Mandalorian lit the pest up with his pistol. _"It's a trap." _

"How so?" Druid asked.

Mandalorian pointed to the dead gargoyle. "_We_ _walk_ _over_ _to_ _the_ _middle_ _to_ _inspect_ _the_ _body_, _we're_ _exposed_ _and_ _vulnerable_. _They_ _swoop_ _in_ _from_ _the_ _trees_ _and_ _attack_._" _

"Too late. Incoming!" Marksman shouted.

Out from the trees, a swarm of gargoyles swooped in and surrounded the group.

_"Alright. Luckily I always have a Plan B." _Mandalorian replied.

He pulled a duffel bag off his back and placed it on the ground, unzipping it.

Taking the bag, he tossed it to Druid. _"Take this." _

Druid catched the bag and pulled out a large tube.

"Wow. This thing's a little heavy." She remarked.

_"Need instructions on how to use it?" _Mandalorian asked.

Druid held a button down on the handle of the tube, causing it to spin rapidly.

"Nah. I think I can figure it out." Druid replied.

_"Alright then. Let's kill some gargoyles." _

Mando opened up with a plume of flame, catching several gargoyles on fire.

Druid followed with her gun, a Rotary Blaster Cannon. Marksman took potshots with his E-11, jabbing any that came close with a dagger.

_"Marksman, take this. Press the red circle, then throw." _Mandalorian said, tossing him a thermal detonator.

Marksman caught it and did as he was instructed.

The three continued fighting, as the gargoyle swarm flew closer.

"They're gaining ground!" Druid said.

Mando activated his whistling birds, showering the field in sparking missiles. The missiles exploded, dropping almost all of the remaining gargoyles.

"Nice!" Marksman shouted. "That was some good teamwork, huh?"

_"Yes."_

"I like this thing!" Druid cheered. "Can I cast spells with it?"

_"You could try._" Mandalorian replied. _"Though I never-GUH!" _

A massive winged beast slammed into Mando, grabbing him by the cape.

"Woah! Manticore!" Druid shouted. "That's a Bronze level quest monster. If we kill that, we'll-"

"Not the time! Mando needs help!" Marksman said. "I'll distract it, you move in and aim for the face."

He shot the beast, the bolts hitting the chest region. The manticore roared in anger and pain, shooting a salvo of poisonous thorns in Marksman's direction. He reacted quickly, taking shelter behind a tree.

"Take some, ugly!" Druid shouted, spinning up her gun, blasting the manticore's tail with a hailstorm of laser fire.

The beast recoiled in pain, turning to the newcomer.

Marksman leaned out from the tree to take a shot, but a hissing noise caught his attention. A gilled humanoid monster hissed at him from beneath the muck.

Mandalorian shot a wire at the manticore's tail, which had gone limp from the blaster fire. It snarled, rearing back in an attempt to snap at him. Mando tightened the wire, using it to balance himself to stand on the bulbous tail. Pulling out a hidden blade from his wrist, he sliced into the tailbone, cutting it off. The tail fell on the ground, and Mandalorian plopped down with his helmet in the mud.

The manticore was absolutely furious. Lunging at Mandalorian, it tossed him into the mud, covering his body with purple sludge.

"_Druid! Blast it!"_

"Hang on!" Druid yelled. "It's not firing."

"_Guhh, it's still on cooldown!"_ Mando shouted. The manticore pinned him with its claw, ready to strike.

Meanwhile, Marksman struggled against the swamp monster, socking it in the head with his rifle, causing it to stagger. He then noticed something about the tree. The thorn's poison was acidic, as he could see it was eating through the tree. Pushing the swamp monster into the tree, he shot the tree, then made a run for it.

The swamp monster fell down, slowly picking its head up, then noticing the tree coming down on it, the last thing it would ever see.

The manticore snapped at Mando, and in response he activated his flamethrower, lighting its mane on fire. Caught off by this, the manticore pulled back, and Mandalorian took out his knife, lunging at the monster's neck. Plunging it in, the manticore gave a final pained roar, before lying on the ground, motionless.

Druid took several deep breaths. "We did it!"

Marksman stepped out from the treeline. "Hey."

"Where were you?" Druid asked.

"Getting my ass kicked." Marksman replied.

"Oh, so the usual?" Druid teased.

**Later the next day…**

Mando clenched his hand, adjusting the glove as he slid it on. Stepping out of the ship, acknowledged his two clients.

_"Thanks for waiting." _

"Hey, can't have you walking around the Guild in that muck." Druid said, pushing herself off the tree she had been leaning on.

_"We should move. My evaluation is happening today." _Mandalorian said.

"Do we take your mounts?" Marksman asked.

_"Yes." _

As they rode out, Mando considered his new clients, who, more than anything else, acted as though he was more than just a hired gun.

They arrived, parking outside the town. Entering the Guild, Mando saw that Guild Girl was not at her desk.

_"I might be late. Can you fill the quest details out?" _

"Sure. Good luck!" Marksman called, as Mando rushed up the stairs.

**Meanwhile: **

Guild Girl stared at the adventurer sitting on the couch.

"Well, this is difficult." She said. "It's people like you who inspire prejudice against Rheas and Scouts."

Picking up a stack of paper, she selected a couple.

"Well, since it's your first offence, I think demotion to porcelain is appropriate-and being barred from adventuring in this town again."

"What?!" The Rhea in question shouted.

The door opened, and Mando walked in, stopping upon noticing the group.

_"Am I late?"_

"Oh, no, sorry. We just had another promotion evaluation that got rescheduled due to a change of observers. You can stay if you want. I'm just finishing." Guild Girl replied.

_"Alright." _Mando leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting for his turn.

"M-miss, please! All I did was snag a treasure chest! Is this amount of punishment really necessary?" Scout Rhea pleaded.

"Excuse me? All you did?" Guild Girl said. "Are you dim? You can't buy trust with money. Or we could tell everyone that he was demoted for filing misleading quest reports and you could stay. Which would you prefer?"

The girl next to Guild Girl frowned. "Your schemes will do no good here."

The Scout scanned the group, then widened his eyes. "Goblin Slayer! H-Help me out. As a fellow adventurer…"

"No." Was Goblin Slayer's reply. "I am an observer."

"But...you're an adventurer too, right?" He asked.

"Where those who you took advantage of not also adventurers?" Goblin Slayer replied.

Scout turned to the last person.

"Hey, uh, Mando, right? Please! As someone who's a part of another Guild…"

_"Since when did I become a part of this?" _Mando replied, looking up from the floor.

"Well, in your other Guild, do you guys demote or exile people who flich treasure chests?" He asked.

_"We're a bounty Guild, so we don't get looting rights. But if you want to know the punishment for, say, taking what the Guild says belongs to someone else, no. They don't exile people." _

"See?" The Scout said with a delirious smile on his face. "Mando gets it!"

_"They send IG assassin droids to hunt you down."_ Mandalorian continued. _"They bring you back and give the person you stole from the option to either kill you or have the Guild do it."_

Rhea Scout's eyes widened and his mouth dropped to the floor.

Even Guild Girl and her coworker were taken aback by this statement. She quickly regained her composure and smiled.

"Well, there you go. Be lucky we are much more merciful."

Rhea Scout sneered. He wanted to kill her so bad. But he knew how both Mando and Goblin Slayer would react. Standing up, he noticed a small green creature in robes walk over to the desk, and nobody else seemed aware of it. He smiled. If it was what he thought it was, he would easily win back Guild Girl.

"Goblin! Look out!" He shouted, pulling his knife out and rushing over.

"Wait-don't!" Guild Girl cried.

Mando reacted instantly, firing a wire that attached to his hand and yanked it back, causing him to drop the knife. He then slammed Rhea Scout's head into the wall, grabbing onto his neck collar.

A small black blade fell from Mando's sleeve and onto his glove. He gripped it and pressed it against the Scout's neck.

_"You see this?" _He asked.

Rhea Scout nodded fearfully.

_"I killed a manticore yesterday with this thing. You wanna end up like the manticore?" _

The coworker blinked. "He's not lying."

_"Stay away from my kid. Understood?" _Mando threatened.

"Your kid is a goblin? What kind of sick-" Rhea Scout began, but yelped as Mando pressed the blade into his neck harder. "Okay! Okay!"

Mandalorian released him, and the Scout walked out and slammed the door shut behind him, holding his neck.

Mando walked over to the couch. _"Well that was eventful." _

"You killed a manticore with that knife?" The coworker asked.

_"Had some help. From my clients." _Mando replied.

"Well, glad to see you play well with others." Guild Girl teased. "Now, let me address the elephant in the room right now."

She grabbed a file with a huge stack of papers in it.

"Fourty-eight bounties and twenty-nine quests. All in the span of a month." Guild Girl said. "Do you have any idea how many on-file records this blows out of the park?"

_"Not really." _Mandalorian replied.

"Average porcelain completes a goblin quest in about 3 days, depending on the time to get there. You've managed to complete some of them in less than 2 hours."

"Impressive." Goblin Slayer remarked, perplexed. "What are your methods?"

_"For goblins, bugs, and rats I use WompX. It's a gas used to kill pests. I can lend you some to try for yourself. You'll have to release it by blasting it remotely with explosives." _

"I'll consider the offer."

Guild Girl smiled at the exchange. "Sales offers aside, I think it's out of the question if you deserve a promotion. Congratulations. Welcome to the obsidian ranks."

"_Thanks. There was something else I wanted to ask."_

Guild Girl leaned in, awaiting his question.

"_The clients, they...they felt more like teammates."_ Mandalorian said.

"Hmm. If you want, they can be." Guild Girl replied. "Just ask them."

"_I might do that." _Mando pondered. _"See you around."_ He picked up the small green creature, and began to walk away.

"Oh, Mandalorian, I have a letter for you." Guild Girl said. She handed him an envelope with a red seal.

Mando took it and nodded, walking out the room.

Walking down the stairs, he was approached by Druid.

"Hey, here's your cut." She said, giving him the agreed 40 percent. Mandalorian looked at it for a second. He tossed her back some coins.

"_Keep the 33."_ Mando replied.

"R-really? Gee, thanks."

_There's something I'd also like to speak to you and your partner about."_ Mando continued.

"O-oh, before you do, let me ask you something." Druid said. She ushered Marksman, who was eating a honey roll, to come over. He reluctantly set it down, trodding over.

"So, Mando. If you haven't noticed, we make a pretty good team. So...we were wondering...if maybe you would join our party?"

Mando walked past the two towards the door, Druid flinched, thinking she might have offended him.

"_Funny you should mention that…" _He said, stopping suddenly. He then tossed two objects over to Marksman, who caught them. He smiled upon seeing that they were keys to two of the speeder bikes.

"_...I was going to ask the same thing. Let me know if you need me, partners."_

**End of chapter**


	6. Chapter 6

**Quick QNA before we begin **

**Q : Does Mando get a harem?**

**A: Nah, I don't think Mando's the kinda guy who'd be down with that kind of thing. Love's just not a good idea when you're a bounty hunter. He'll meet his own circle of partners like Goblin Slayer does, but they're not going to be all women, and they won't see their relationships with him as anything more than friends at the most. Some may find love with each other though probably. **

**Q: Pairings?**

**A: Not with Mando, for reasons stated above**

**That's about all the questions so far. Enjoy.**

**AN: Would like to take the time to apologise for once again being inactive. Coronavirus? I barely knew her! No seriously can we get a leap year right now this year actually sucks. **

**Chapter 6:**

Mando's ship dropped out of hyperspace. He turned to address his two occupants.

_"We are now entering the Nevarro System." _

Silence.

_"Is...everything okay?" _He asked.

Marksman shivered in shock as Druid prepared to lay the smackdown on Mando.

"Oh, that's when you decided to ask? Not when you brought us onto your supposed boat that turned out not to be a boat but rather a craft that just warps us into the heavens?!" Druid asked.

_"I guess it just never occured to me. Your planet is pretty close to occupied territory. Do you have any form of droids at least?"_

Mando replied.

"No! No, we don't! What in the name of the Seven Sacred Heavens is a droid!?" Druid scolded.

"D-d-druid!" Marksman. "Please h-h-help!"

_"Look. I told you we were going offworld to begin with, and at the same time, you didn't at any point in time question where I got all my weapons." _

"Yeah, cuz we figured you were just from some faroff land." Druid replied.

_"Well then. Congratulations. You were correct." _Mando quipped lightly.

Druid stammered before puffing out her chest in annoyance. "I mean in a far off land, _in our land_!"

_"Define 'your land'."_

"You know what Mando, I don't even wanna talk anymore. Lets just go and get whatever it is you need done." Druid deadpanned, clearly worn out by Mando's inability to explain...any of this!

As they neared the strangely tannish hue of a sphere, Mandalorian brought a hand up to the side to pat his non-goblin looking friend, whom Guild Girl and most of the rest of those who dwelled in the Guild Hall had jokingly named "Not A Goblin."

And though it was a joke name, Mando saw little reason to name it anything else, as he wasn't akin to naming things, much less sentient life.

Not A Goblin blinked idly, adding to the thoughtlessness that was to be expected of an infant.

_"Hey. You wanna come along on the next assignment? We haven't been seeing each other for a while." _

Not A Goblin cooed a response.

_"Sounds like a plan."_

Druid gave a small smile. It was nice to see that Mando had such pleasures as taking care of children. Perhaps that was the thing that made him a little more mellow and street smart than Goblin Slayer.

Druid shrugged as she remembered the first time she met him.

_"Jeez, Marksman. You really think we're ready for goblins?" _

_"Goblins? Where?" _

_"Uh, just about anywhere." _

_"Then I'll make sure they're nowhere." _

Druid was snapped out of her thoughts as a bump made her jump out of her seat.

_"We're here.' _Mando said.

Marksman whimpered as he crawled out of his seat.

"Okay, cool. I'll go get those dust ponchos you said we'd need." Druid said, standing up and leaning her staff on the wall."

Mando held out an open palm. _"Wait. Ground rules first." _

Druid turned around and nodded.

_"This isn't Mos Eisley Spaceport, but it's still going to be a place where you really better know where you're going. So stay close to me, don't stare at people, especially if they're Transdoshian, and let me do the talking." _Mandalorian lectured.

"Got it. Marksman?"

"Actually? Could I stay here? I feel-"

"-Sick? Yeah. I could tell." Druid observed, bearing witness to her partner's face go from blue to grey to purple.

_"Alright, let's go Druid." _Mando said, walking out of the cockpit. Druid followed.

The first thing Druid did when she got out was cough. The air was significantly more dusty than she imagined.

_"You okay?" _Mando asked.

"Yeah, just didn't expect this much congestion in the air." Druid admitted.

_"The planet emits volcanic ash that becomes dust once it reaches the settlement. It may be offputting to those who haven't visited it before. And also those without face protection." _Mando replied.

The two walked down into the settlement. People, creatures, and strange mechanical beings walked, talked, and sat around. Above her, metal craft resembling Mando's landed and took off from a far off section of the settlement.

All the strange sights, smells, and sounds nearly overwhelmed the hooded disciple of Mother Nature. At this point, she wasn't even sure if Mother Nature was still watching her, given the fact that it felt as though she had entered an entirely new universe as a whole.

Many individuals took moderate notice at Mando, many nodding their heads at him or simply staring. She also caught some people staring at her with slightly more interest, although she did her best to follow Mandalorian's second rule.

_The hell is a Transdoshian? _

Marksman groaned in agony, feeling his stomach go through another cycle of churning and looping like a horse racing around a corral.

"Someone kill me!" He whined to nobody in particular. He laid his head back onto the floor of the cockpit and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he felt...better. So much better. He felt like he could jump up out of the ship, run a hundred laps around it and run back into the ship, he was so rejuvenated. He lifted his head back up to see Not A Goblin, holding its hand out to him.

He blinked. "Did...you do that? Get rid of my stomach troubles? Thanks. You know, you're pretty cool in my book little guy."

The creature gave Marksman a wave, before wondering off into the ship's living quarters. Marksman looked out the cockpit window, taking in the sights.

"Wow. So this is what other worlds look like." Marksman said. He noticed a gigantic craft-much larger than Mando's- land on the surface next to Mando's craft. A hatch opened, and several small, brown hooded creatures ran out, along with a green-skinned human with tentacles coming out of his head. Curious, Marksman stepped outside the ship, watching the scene unfold. A massive spider-like metal being, strapped to a floating panel hovered out.

Marksman's body seemed to move towards it slowly on its own.

"Hey!"

He stopped and looked to see the green-skinned man run over to him.

"Step away from the merchandise please." He said.

"You're selling this?" Marksman asked.

"Sure am. Are you okay, boy? In like, the head?" The man replied concerningly.

"Hmm?" Marksman hummed, before coming to his senses and realizing he had broken both rule 2 and 3 already. "Oh, uh, yeah just…"

He stared at the three-legged monstrosity.

"...Never seen something like it before."

"Wouldn't expect you to." The man nodded. "This here's an octuptarra tri-droid. The Separatists used them during the Clone Wars. Way before your time I would guess."

Marksman nodded in fake understanding. He turned his head to a humming noise. A floating set of lockers hovered by. The lockers were sealed by a sort of glass, and in each locker was a tall metal being, resembling a human in shape. Marksman could only guess these were also droids.

"And those are today's market special. IG assassin droids. No job is too dangerous, because you're not doing it!" The man said, chuckling.

"Cool. H-how much are they?" Marksman asked.

"Eight thousand. Pretty good deal."

"Uhh, what can I get for this much?" Marksman asked, pulling out a sack of coins.

The man took the sack and opened it. He frowned and examined the coins.

"Hmm...These aren't credits, but judging from the metal, I'd consider it decent."

He put a hand to his chin in thought. After a moment of silence, he lifted it from his chin and nodded.

"Tell you what, kid. I don't think this is enough for an IG, but, I do have something else." He said. He shouted an order in a foreign language to one of the little brown creatures, and it ran into the craft, then came back out with…

"Woah. What's that?" Marksman asked.

"Really? You've never seen an astromech?" The man replied.

"Oh, right. Sorry, just...didn't see it from this angle."

"His designation is M5-BZ. Take good care of him and he'll take good care of you."

"Oookay. Will do." Marksman acknowledged.

"Hey, you're a young man. And you need someone to watch your back." The man continued.

"Thanks." Marksman replied.

The man brought a hand down to the droid and pressed a button. It powered up, letting out beeps and whirrs.

It's head turned to Marksman. Monotone beeps and whirrs filled the air.

**Meanwhile…**

Mando and Druid walked down to the village center.

"So, this is where your Guild resides?" Druid asked.

_"This branch, at least. The Bounty Hunter's Guild operates on a galactic scale."_

"Yeah, you seem to like throwing that 'galactic' term around alot. Even though I don't know what it is."

_"Just think much, much larger than you've ever imagined."_

They walked inside of what Druid could only assume was the Guild Hall of Mando's Guild. But where the Adventurer's Guild was chock full of noble knights, honorary paladins, and resourceful sorcerers, this Guild...well…

At least she could say without a shadow of a doubt that they were resourceful.

A slight scent of musky dank substance wafted throughout the room. As they walked, she could see creatures of all sorts, some sentient, some not so sentient. Others she had to even question if they were living to begin with.

Druid did catch a familiar glance of what looked like a Lizardman. But this one did not seem to be at all like the Lizardman she saw from Goblin Slayer's party. That one apologised and wished you your ancestors praise if you bumped into him. This one looked like he would rip your arm off if you so much as breathed wrong in his general direction.

It lightly hissed at the duo as they passed by. Mando elbowed Druid.

_"I said don't look at the Transdoshians." _

"Like I'm supposed to know what that is!" Druid whispered.

They approached a table. A short, portly man sat at it, eyeing Mandalorian with expectancy.

"Well, wasn't sure if you'd come or not." The man said.

_"You said it was urgent."_ Mando replied.

The man eyed Druid, nodding in her direction.

"She with you?"

_"Yeah." _

"Well, go on. Take a seat." He said to Druid, gesturing to a chair.

"Oh, right." She replied, sitting down. "Druid by the way."

"Greef Karga." The man nodded. He turned to Mando. "So, how goes the hunt?"

_"Eight left, I have whereabouts on the seventh." _

"Not to prod, but that's a little slow for you." Greef said.

_"What's the rush?" _Mando asked.

Greef sighed. He pulled out a datapad. "We have reason to believe that they're going to be transported offworld."

_"By who?" _

"Not entirely sure. We only heard the SOS calls. One of them reached home." Greef explained.

_"The Hutts control the surrounding space." _Mando offered.

"Yeah, well one of them has a connection all the way up to Tyber Zann."

_"So either the most notorious cartel in the galaxy…"_

"...Or the most powerful man in the galaxy."

Mando let out a sigh. _"Well, I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the information." _

"No problem. And be careful. If they managed to send out an SOS, they would have needed a lot of resources."

They stood up and exchanged goodbyes. Druid coughed again. Greef raised an eyebrow.

"You good?"

"Yeah, just not used to the dust." Druid replied.

"That's not good. If you aren't used to it, you could develop breathing problems. Stay there, I'll get you some dust goggles and a rebreather." Greef told her.

"O-oh, you don't have to…" Druid stammered.

_"He's right. It's not safe for people who have a problem with dust." _Mando said.

"Er, okay." Druid nodded.

**Back at the ship…**

Marksman and M5-BZ sat in the cockpit of the ship in silence. Not A Goblin sat on the dashboard, chewing its lip.

"Sooooo…" He began.

Not A Goblin and the droid turned to look at Marksman.

"On second thought. Probably...not going to be...well...you can...probably understand me but...I can't understand me."

Not A Goblin lifted an eyebrow and the droid beeped confusingly.

Marksman blinked and facepalmed. "I mean you! You, I...I can't understand you that's the...whole thing."

"Marksman! We're back!" Druid called. "The Guild agent gave me these cool goggles." She walked inside and blinked upon seeing the green metal droid.

"Uh, Marksman, what is that?"

"Oh, this is uh...MZ-B5?" He said, trying to remember the name.

The droid whirred in annoyance.

_"M5-BZ." _Mando said, walking into the cockpit.

M5-BZ beeped at Mando.

_"He says to call him BeeZee. Where did you get him?"  
_

"Uhh, some guy who was selling 'IG droids'."

The droid beeped. Mando nodded.

_"Nareel. Fair enough." _

"Fair enough? He just buys some random thing from a random guy and all you can say is 'fair enough'?!" Druid exclaimed.

_"Nareel is a legitimate salesman. I don't see the problem." _Mandalorian replied.

"But what if it wasn't? You said this place was dangerous." Druid reminded him.

Mando sighed and turned to Marksman. _"Next time you wanna buy something, let me know. I'll find you a seller." _

"Sounds fair." Marksman nodded.

_"Right then. Let's return home."_

**Scene transition...**

Mandalorian adjusted the new stock of his A280, which he had repaired using bronzium straps and a fine seal of welded durasteel.

A rap on the ship door got his usual amount of attention.

_"Come in._" He said in his monotone voice.

The door slid open, and Goblin Slayer walked in. He observed with moderate curiosity the arsenal of otherworldly weapons laid out on Mando's opened gun locker.

"I would like to hire your services." He stated.

_"How many?"_ Mando asked, not bothering to ask the already obvious job.

"I am unsure. Me and my party are travelling to Water Town to meet the quest giver." Goblin Slayer replied.

He stood up and placed the A280 back on the rack.

_"Your party are also going?" _He asked.

"Yes."

_"Alright. Let me get some equipment." _Mando told him, walking over to the cockpit.

"Did he say yes?"

High Elf Archer peeked her head in the ship, eyeing the interior with interest.

"So this is your bungalow Mando? Gee, you're basically living in a box."

_"It gets the job done." _Mandalorian replied.

"What equipment do you need?" Goblin Slayer asked.

_"Stuff that you probably wouldn't have. It might take a while, so you can go on ahead. I'll meet you at Water Town." _Mandalorian said.

"Ok."

"Hmm, tell him about the thing?" High Elf Archer said, nudging Goblin Slayer.

"Hng. Yes. We cannot use fire, water, or poison gas."

Mando turned his head to High Elf Archer.

_"Why do I feel like you didn't come up with that rule?" _

"...My party has requested it." Goblin Slayer said.

_"Perhaps your party needs a lesson in the arts of efficiency." _Mando suggested, staring down High Elf Archer, who stuck her tongue out at him.

"Maybe, but as an Adventurer, I am obliged to adhere to my party's wishes." Goblin Slayer said. "And besides, it may make good practice."

_"Practice?" _Mandalorian asked.

"In the event that you are unable to obtain the kind of weaponry you are used to, you may find that you will be better off if you are prepared."

_I'm always prepared._ Mando thought to himself. But in any case, arguing was useless. It was apparent Goblin Slayer had already failed in that regard, and so would he probably. And besides, he was a Mandalorian. It didn't matter the circumstances. He would complete the job.

_"While I don't entirely agree, the terms of the job are ultimately at the discretion of the client. No poison or fire it is." _

"Thank you for understanding." Goblin Slayer nodded.

High Elf Archer smirked. Mando noticed.

_"The price, however, will be extra."_

"Fair."

High Elf Archer winced and glared at Mando, who was lucky enough to have a helmet to conceal his cocky grin.

Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer walked out of the ship. The ramp slid up onto the ship, and the door closed.

The engines started to churn, an orange hue glowed from the ends.

High Elf Archer tripped in surprise, and Goblin Slayer tipped his helmet. The contraption's legs lifted up, and the vehicle shot up into the sky, leaving a flabbergasted elf and a slightly curious man behind.

"First time?"

High Elf Archer turned to see Druid, dressed in a green poncho and goggles on.

She stood off the tree she was leaning on.

"Yeah, it'll make you drop your jaw."

**Later…**

Priestess looked out the coach, her eyes widened at the sight of the buildings.

"Wow! That's the town, isn't it?" She asked.

Inside the coach, High Elf Archer laid on the floor, feeling ill from her hangover.

"Water...please…" She groaned.

Dwarf Shaman, sitting next to her, rolled his eyes.

"Oh, it's just a little hangover. You elves are so pathetic."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, pointing an accusing finger at the dwarf weakly. "I drank you under the table last night!"

"You must be dreaming!" Dwarf Shaman exclaimed. "You were falling down drunk after just a few cupfulls!"

Lizard Priest smiled a toothy grin and looked to Goblin Slayer. "It seems our dear ranger has been having most pleasent dreams."

"If it's too much for her, give her an antidote." Goblin Slayer replied.

Priestess looked at him apprehensively. "Goblin Slayer...that's really-"

"It's a joke."

There was a brief pause as both Lizard Priest and Dwarf Shaman looked at the armored man in surprise. High Elf Archer slowly rose from her stupor and yelled out what everyone was thinking.

"ORCBOLG MADE A JOKE?!"

**/\**

Mando brought his ship into a controlled decent, opening up the landing gear.

The ship touched down, and he pressed a button on the control panel. A small blue image illuminated, showing a creature standing on its hands.

_"What's your status?" _Mando asked the creature.

"Delivery has arrived. ETA, 10 seconds." The creature reported.

_"Good enough. Just set it down in front of my ship. I don't have time to do standard checks."_

"As you wish, bounty hunter. Thank you for doing business with us again." The creature thanked.

The blue light dissipated, and Mando stepped outside of the ship. A massive cargo frieghter came into view, descending until it was about 10 feet away from the ship. It dropped an object covered by a blanket, which Mando then uncovered.

_"You've gotta be kidding." _He deadpanned.

"What?" The creature asked, stepping off of the frieghter. "You say you need something fast, no?"

_"Preferably something that gets me to my destination in one piece." _Mando replied, observing the object.

"I assure you my friend, podracing is not nearly as dangerous as they say! And this one is new model, much more safer than the older ones! You pay me good price, yes?"

_"Take the change." _Mando said, tossing the creature some credits.

"I must say, delivery to a world like this is...unexpected." The creature remarked.

_"No questions asked, Dug." _Mandalorian reminded him.

The Dug shrugged, and walked back to his frieghter, taking off and shooting out into the sky.

Mandalorian took a look at his ride. It did look a little better than most podracers he had seen, but something told him it wouldn't be the ride he had hoped for. Climbing in, he placed a couple bags in the storage compartment that was added to the speeder.

Though he had never used a podracer before, he had a good idea of how it worked, and so starting it up proved to be easy. Staring ahead into the afternoon sun, Mando adjusted his bandolier, before speeding off into the distance.

**/\**

Priestess's breathing labored as the group entered the temple. She didn't know much about Sword Maiden, but she as a priestess was told of her feats...and her enchanting beauty. Swallowing, she slowly walked down to the altar…

_Clank!_

Her face quickly turned to shock as Goblin Slayer started walking down at a quick pace. And the way he walked...no, no...this wasn't good. They were supposed to be presentable and he was acting like it was just a normal day at the Guild Hall.

She could hear from the altar a sweet and yet curious voice speak up.

"Goodness. Who have we here?"

A woman in holy garments stood at the front of the altar, a white veil over her head that fell to the floor. She held a staff much larger than Priestess's.

"We have come to slay the goblins." Goblin Slayer informed the woman.

Priestess turned her attention back to Goblin Slayer.

"H-hold on, Goblin Slayer! Can't you walk with more dignity?"

"This is urgent." Goblin Slayer replied. "We've been granted entry. Why go slowly?"

"Orcbolg is kinda prickly, isn't he?" High Elf Archer remarked. "A lot more impatient than any elf."

"Quietly, now." Lizard Priest reminded the group. "This is still a place of worship, even if not our own."

Priestess stared at the woman, and her face flushed. "I-I'm very sorry! Um, we…we come only to serve!"

The woman at the altar smiled sweetly, and Priestess looked up at her. It was Sword Maiden, and she was much more beautiful than she could have imagined.

A rustic, oily smell entered the halls. Priestess covered her nose, thinking it must be incense.

"Um, Oh! It's an honor to meet you!" Priestess continued.

"Honored warrior." Sword Maiden spoke. "And dear, sweet priestess."

"Ahem," High Elf Archer spoke up. "We are also members of this party."

"I may appear as a fearsome naga, but I assure you, all my powers are at your command." Lizard Priest added.

High Elf Archer caught a whiff of the same scent, and held down a gag.

Dwarf Shaman noticed it too, coughing a little but trying his best to bare it.

"Welcome to the temple of the law, O scaled monk." Sword Maiden greeted.

Lizard Priest clenched his snout upon the scent reaching his nostrils.

"Hehe! You seem adventurers indeed!" Sword Maiden remarked. "That makes us fellows. And I welcome you with all my heart."

She bowed to them, then coughed lightly. "Do...you all smell that?"

"Yeah, I thought it was incense." High Elf Archer replied.

"Same here." Priestess agreed.

"No, we don't have incense this fume producing." Sword Maiden said.

"Enough banter. Where are the goblins?" Goblin Slayer asked.

Priestess looked at him in shock. "Goblin Slayer sir! That's-"

Footsteps interrupted her scolding, as the smell became stronger.

_"Sorry I'm late." _

The group turned to regard Mandalorian. His armor was a little burned, and he reeked of oil.

"Did you dunk yourself in a tar pit?" High Elf Archer asked.

_"No." _Mandalorian replied.

"What happened?" Priestess added.

_"Nothing." _

"Your cape is on fire." Goblin Slayer commented.

Mandalorian looked down to see a small blaze on his cape end. He quickly extinguished it.

_"Thanks." _

Sword Maiden looked at the newcomer. "Ahh, you must be the Mandalorian. I heard of your quick work with the Guild. And your heroic liberation of Frontier Town."

_"Who are you?" _Mandalorian asked.

Priestess snapped her head to Mando. _I have to deal with two rude imbi-no. No, they just don't understand._ _Forgive them._

"M-Mandalorian, sir. Please be more decent to-"

"It's alright." Sword Maiden said with a smile. "It seems a daughty group has come to my aide. And for that I am most grateful."

"For real Mando." High Elf Archer whispered to the warrior. "What the hell happened?"

_"I don't want to talk about it."_

"Hmm. Sourpuss with a capital 'S' as always." The ranger huffed.

_"Shut up." _

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"Let me ask you something out of curiosity." Sword Maiden said. "If you learned that your own kin were aiding the forces of chaos, could you kill them?"

"No. I have no living relatives." Goblin Slayer replied. "Now where are the goblins?"

Mandalorian allowed himself the slightest sense of humor, wondering how Goblin Slayer would fair if he was this direct with people like Tyber Zann, the Black Sun, the Haxion Brood, or any number of notorious cutthroats. Maybe it was for the best then, that he had spent most of his time away slaying goblins for the time Norm and his men occupied Frontier Town.

"It began about a month ago. I dispatched an acolyte girl from the temple late one night as a messenger, but she didn't come back." Sword Maiden explained. "Her body was found in the sewers the next day. According to reports, she had been..

.carved up while still alive."

"That's...horrible." Priestess said somberly.

Mando took interest in the conversation.

"While still alive…" Goblin Slayer muttered. He turned his head upwards. "Had the body been moved? Was any part of her eaten, or was she only killed?"

Yeah, Zann would have this guy fried and tossed into a nebula.

"And…"

"Orcbolg, take it easy." High Elf Archer told him softly. "That's cold, even for you."

Mando took this time to throw in a question.

_"Did they identify the weapon used, if any?" _

High Elf Archer gave Mando a look, and his question went ignored.

"It was truly an awful event." Sword Maiden recounted. "Had mere thugs done it? Agents of chaos? Adherents to evil sects? Even as the town guard sought the perpetrators, others suffered and died. Women mutilated and murdered. Others kidnapped."

Mandalorian put a hand to his chin.

"No trails were found. So we tried to stop the crimes from happening." Sword Maiden continued. "A quest was issued. Adventurers patrolled the streets. Finally, one of them spotted a small humanoid attacking a woman. They cut the criminal down...to discover it was a goblin."

"Goblins all along…" Goblin Slayer concluded.

Mando was not so easily assured. Yes, the fact that this quest was issued to Goblin Slayer certainly meant that it involved goblins, but it almost seemed formulaic to an extent.

"How did they get into the city?" Priestess asked.

"That's a lot of destruction for some wandering monsters." High Elf Archer remarked.

"Goblins never come in ones or twos." Dwarf Shaman added.

"What do you think?" Goblin Slayer asked Lizard Priest.

"Goblins are apt to hide underground." He replied. "This city was built on the ruins of an even older one. Beneath the streets is veritable labyrinth."

Goblin Slayer turned to Sword Maiden. "In that case, I'm confident. If I were them, I would simply make my nest in the sewers."

"You seem awfully cozy with these goblins." High Elf Archer remarked.

"If you don't know how they think, you can't fight them."

_"I'm going to grab some equipment." _Mando said, walking out of the temple.

Sword Maiden smiled. "Surely it was God himself who led an adventurer like you to answer my call. You're correct. After a month, we also concluded that they must be underground. We issued a quest to the town's adventurers, but no one who went came back. It was then I heard a song of a Goblin Slayer, Hero of the Frontier. "

"What do you mean by song?" Goblin Slayer asked.

**Meanwhile…**

"Oooh!" Druid remarked, watching Marksman take a hit from Spearman's weapon.

"A fair swipe, Marksman. But you should know, a porcelain rank versus a silver rank? I think you know what the results will be!" Spearman taunted.

"Yeah?" Marksman retorted. "I seem to recall a certain former porcelain freeing our town!"

"Oooh. Nice comeback." Druid mused.

"And he's the same porcelain who helped me get this! Beezee! Battle tactic!"

The green and black droid deployed a smokescreen of fire extinguishing carbonite mist.

"Woahaah! A stealth move. Valiant effort, my friend. But the Frontier's Strongest is adaptable, flexible, and most certainly observant. You only prolong the inevitable."

Druid smiled amusingly at Spearman's show of words. A beeping on her wrist caught her attention. Pressing it, she spoke.

"Hey Mando."

_"Druid. How are you finding your new weapons?" _

Druid watched as Marksman tried to fire his E-11's stun round. The gun didn't fire, and Marksman looked at the entrance to the barrel in confusion. Immediately, a circle of blue energy hit him like a lightning bolt. Marksman dropped to the floor instantly, passed out from the accidental discharge.

She rolled her eyes, but then lowered them in shame as she looked at her bandaged hand, which had sustained a burn when her rotary blaster cannon overheated.

"Kinda like our speeder training. Practice makes perfect." She shrugged.

_"Good to hear. If you're not busy, I'd like you to investigate something for me." _

"I'm all ears."

**Back at the temple…**

"Please!" Sword Maiden cried. "Can I not prevail upon you to save our town?"

"I cannot promise anything. But I will save the goblins." Goblin Slayer replied.

"Watch how you talk!" Priestess scolded him.

"But it's the truth." Goblin Slayer said.

"That's why you have to be so careful!"

"The sewers. That means you won't be able to use any of your normal tactics." Lizard Priest said.

"I never liked that stuff anyways." High Elf Archer added.

"But why can the town guard, or the army, not exterminate them?" Lizard Priest asked. "Surely this falls within their purview?"

"They…"

Priestess looked back to see Mandalorian return, and blinked, seeing Not A Goblin's egg cradle hovering behind him. She smiled warmly at the infant. _So that was his equipment_.

"They said they couldn't be bothered by the likes of goblins, didn't they?" Goblin Slayer asked.

_"Who couldn't be bothered?" _Mandalorian questioned.

"The town guard." Goblin Slayer replied.

"Gosh, tough world." Dwarf Shaman said.

At this, Mandalorian nodded. He knew what it was like for authorities to not do their job. Everyone across the galaxy, in fact, knew what it was like. But then again, this seemed more urgent. This would be like a TIE Fighter just wandering into Coruscant. The New Republic doesn't have the ability to keep law and order in the galaxy, but they're not stupid.

"I'm ashamed to say you are correct." Sword Maiden said. "The world is full of tragedies, and so there are so few saviors."

"As I said, I don't care." Goblin Slayer told the archbishop. "How do we access the sewers?"

Sword Maiden handed him a paper. "This is a map of the sewers. It's old, from the time when this temple was built."

"Is it accurate?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"Water still flows in this town, so I don't think the damage should be too bad." Sword Maiden said.

"But it could be a bit of a maze." Priestess remarked.

"We're going then. Time is short." Goblin Slayer announced, walking away.

"So prickly...well, that's Orcbolg for you, I guess." High Elf Archer shrugged.

As he passed by Mando, the armored warrior turned to regard him. "_Hey."_

"Hm?"

"_I'm not entirely sure it's just goblins."_

"Is that so?"

"_Yes. Something else is going on."_

"I don't care." Goblin Slayer said bluntly. "I'm here for goblins and goblins only."

"_That's the issue. You're not seeing other threats that could be hiding among them."_

"If we find anything else that tries to attack us, we will fight back. But as for what we are searching for, it doesn't change. You knew that when I hired you." Goblin Slayer replied.

"_Fine. But consider this fact, Slayer."_ Mandalorian began.

"_One man's threat…"_

The prison doors opened, and Marksman along with Druid stepped inside. The guard nodded and left.

"Exile Monk." Druid said, holding up a red-stamped envelope. "Or should I call you General Calrissian?"

"Heheh. I was wondering when that bounty hunter friend of yours would notice."

"You really gotta have better handwriting than this, sir." Marksman said.

"Well excuse me for being used to datapads!"

"_...Is another's deterrent."_


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"So...what exactly is going on?" Druid asked, stepping over to the man's side.

"Great question. Exactly what I came here to find out." Calrissian replied. "By the way, most people just call me Lando."

"Lando. So...how did you get mixed up in...all this?" Marksman said. "You're a General of the New Republic, right?"

Lando sighed and stood up and paced briefly, then sat down, his thoughts gathered. "I was a part of a New Republic task force. Commando unit. The Senate created the task force with the explicit job of finding old Imperial hideouts to see if anyone was still home."

"And I'm guessing someone was?" Druid asked.

"We didn't get a chance to see." Lando said. "As soon as we flew to the planet's surface, we got shot down. Three people survived. Myself, the communications officer, and my old partner. We split up so that nobody would associate us with each other. As soon as I arrived in what I later learned was Water Town, the guards arrested me."

"They thought you were the Exiled Monk." Marksman deduced.

"Right. I managed to escape and flee into the countryside. Then your armored friend came and dragged me here." Lando said.

"But that doesn't make any sense. No trial for a supposed monk of the Supreme God? Not even a Sense Lie miracle?" Druid remarked incredulously.

"Beg your pardon?" Lando asked, confused.

"There are certain people on our planet who have the ability to tell when someone is lying." Marksman explained. "If you were accused of a crime in Water Town there's no question they would have done so."

"Well I guess someone pulled strings to let it slide, and I have a feeling it wasn't your armored friend."

"Mando said the bounty for the monk's capture came from the Archbishop of the Temple of the Law, she leads the congregation that practices the Sense Lie miracle I just talked about." Druid said.

"We've got to confront her." Lando said.

"We?"

**Meanwhile…**

Goblin Slayer cut down another goblin, slicing its head open like a deformed orange. Mandalorian looked on, pistol in hand to deal with any trying to flank the group. A goblin approached on his left. He rose his pistol to fire at it, but before he could pull the trigger, an arrow embedded in its head, causing it to fall into the water below.

High Elf Archer looked at him and smiled.

"_Nice shot."_ Mando said. Before she could reply, he flipped his pistol so that it was aiming backwards and shot a goblin about to come up behind Priestess. The girl yelped at the high-pitched screech the goblin let out as it fell to the floor, a gaping hole of burning flesh in the middle of its head. Mando flipped the blaster back into his holster. "_But I'm still better."_

High Elf Archer stood there, dumbfounded more than annoyed. She shrugged it off. "As long as I'm better than a dwarf, who cares?"

Dwarf Shaman eyed her. "Now that's a little unfair, Long Ears. I've not been acquainted with the arts of marksmanship."

"Well then maybe you should find a tutor." High Elf Archer said smugly.

A disc on Mandalorian's utility belt started beeping.

"_Excuse me." _He told the group, taking the disc out. Pressing a button on it caused a blue light to emanate from it, creating a picture of a boy, not much older than Priestess.

"_Mando, we got the guy." _Marksman said. "_We're looking at a possible lead." _

Mando nodded. _"Where's Calrissian?" _

_"On the back of my speeder. He's busy right now." _

"What's going on, Sir Mando? Lizard Priest asked.

_"It's not relevant to this quest." _Mandalorian said. "_At least, not yet." _

He turned to Marksman's projected image. "_Bring him to Water Town and I'll speak to him personally."_

"_Yeah, remember when I said he was busy?" _Marksman asked.

From the background, a shout was heard. "_They're onto us! Punch it!" _

Another muffled but decipherable shout came from further away. "_Do not let the prisoner and those scoundrels escape!"_

Mando closed the transmission, putting the holodisc back into his belt.

"Mando, are you having your party break a guy out of prison?" High Elf Archer asked.

"_Hey, we only care about the goblins, right?"_ Mando said.

"Correct." Goblin Slayer answered. "I trust you know what you're doing."

"W-What?! Orcbolg, you can't seriously be...wait, is it the guy the Archbishop told you to capture?" High Elf Archer said.

Mando said nothing, instead pulling out his rifle and adjusting the shock-bayonet.

"It is, isn't it? You're breaking out a guy who raped and killed a girl!"

Dwarf Shaman and Lizard Priest looked at Mandalorian, hoping there was something more to it. Priestess had a look of worry. She had been looking after Not a Goblin ever since they entered the sewers. _Please, Earth Mother, let this man who had the heart to caretake this child not have committed a crime this severe._

Mandalorian looked at the trio, then at Goblin Slayer, then at High Elf Archer, who was about halfway to going ballistic. He sighed.

"_He's not a rapist or a killer. He's a war hero who destroyed the largest space station ever built."_ Mandalorian said. "_And he didn't come here for no reason."_

Priestess sighed in relief. "You should really let the Archbishop know."

"_No."_

"No?" Dwarf Shaman asked.

"_Someone put him in prison on purpose. And I don't trust her or for that matter anyone in power until I get the facts straight."_ Mando said.

"I see." Goblin Slayer replied. "In that case, shall we continue?"

**Scene transition...**

Marksman took the binoculars away from his eyes and handed them to Lando.

"See that?" Lando asked, zooming in on a flaming podracer. "Looks like someone's been busy."

"Is that Mando's ride?" Druid asked. "Why are the town guards setting it on fire?"

"Guess they plan on keeping him there for longer than he expects." Lando shrugged. He focused on another figure. "Oh, hello there. What're you doing here, friend?"

He handed it to Marksman, pointing at the guy.

"He doesn't look like a town guard."

"Hutt Cartel soldier. I should know. I busted my buddy Han out of their base." Lando told Marksman. "And add a transdoshian to the pile…"

He zoomed in on the rather ugly looking creature. "...We got ourselves a textbook collusion going on. BeeZee, see if you can pick up anything."

The droid, situated next to Marksman, opened up a small antenna, and it's holoprojector displayed a waveform of the audio it was picking up. The first voice was raspy and brutish. "Did you ssssee him?"

"Yes. He was with the Goblin Slayer's party. I had to let them in."

The transdoshian grabbed the guard's throat. "Where were they going?!" He snarled.

"I-I don't know! T-To see the Archbishop! They left to go somewhere after, I don't know where! Please don't kill me!" The guard pleaded.

"Then I ssshall pay the Archbissshop a vissit of my own!" The transdoshian hissed, letting go of the guard and turning to the Cartel soldier.

"That won't be necessary, gentlemen." A taller, more decorated guard said, walking over. "Goblin Slayer and this Mandalorian you speak of came to this town to work together, obviously. That means they are here to kill goblins."

The transdoshian nodded. "Ahh, of courssse. Ssssee? Thissss one hasss a brain. Unlike you!" He pointed accusingly at the other guard. "I will talk to my ssssuperior about an exsssstensssive sssearch."

"We gotta warn Mando!" Druid said.

"That's a negative, ma'am. Hutts might be monitoring comms." Lando replied. "At least, now that we know they're here."

As they watched on, Lando noticed the Cartel soldier move into a small hutt based outside the walls.

"But I think I have an idea."

**Meanwhile…**

"This adventurer appears to have been ambushed." Goblin Slayer said, turning his attention towards the body on the ground. "One blow to the head. Not even time to draw his weapon. Good."

He took the adventurer's sword. Priestess looked at him with dismay. "I don't think that's the word I'd choose. May I?"

Goblin Slayer nodded his approval. Priestess knelt over the body. "O, Earth Mother, abounding in mercy, please, by your revered hand, guide the soul of one who has left this world."

"We would fain have returned him to the earth." Lizard Priest said. "But let him at least become food for the rats and worms, and continue the cycle."

High Elf Archer took an arrow from one of the goblin's bodies.

"What's this? Imitating Beardcutter?" Dwarf Shaman asked.

"No! but it looks like this fight's going to take a while, and I don't want to have to use goblin arrows!" High Elf Archer shot back.

"_Maybe if you had taken my recommendation and borrowed a blaster, that wouldn't be an issue."_ Mandalorian said.

"Hmph! Orcbolg is all goblins this and goblins that, and you're all blasters this and blasters that!"

"Well, I think it was nice of him to let us borrow some of his equipment." Priestess said, holding up a blaster pistol.

"How does it feel?" Goblin Slayer asked. He had been interested in Mando's arsenal of futuristic weapons, but wanted to see it in action before attempting to procure any.

"Hmm, well it's quite compact. Not like any musket. And it feels pretty good to hold." Priestess explained.

"_Once you learn how to use it properly, it'll be second-nature." _Mandalorian said.

"Sir Mandalorian surely knows his weapons." Lizard Priest remarked.

"_It is often said that weapons are the religion of a Mandalorian."_ Mando told the lizardman.

"Haha! Then perhaps you could become the Archbishop of your own sect!" Lizard Priest joked.

"_I might as well be." _Mandalorian said. "_There's barely any of us left." _

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer asked. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"_Thanks."_

"It's been three days since we started our search." Dwarf Shaman said. "But the attacks still come as often as ever."

"And this maze...One's attention cannot flag for an instant." Lizard Priest added.

"Don't worry." Goblin Slayer said. "This is a stone wall. An ambush here is unlikely."

Priestess looked up. "This brings back bad memories." She turned to Not a Goblin, who cooed in what seemed to be a gesture of comfort. _An able candidate for moral support. _

A feeling of wetness on her forehead caught her attention. Looking up, she saw a shower of water flow down into the sewer below.

"Rain?"

The group gathered at the entrance to the sewer canals. Goblin Slayer's party had rain ponchos on, while Mandalorian sat with his bare armor on.

"Are you sure you don't want a rain poncho, Sir Mandalorian?" Priestess asked.

"_Thank you, I'll be fine."_

"You're not worried about your armor rusting?" Dwarf Shaman asked.

"_Beskar doesn't rust."_ Mandalorian said.

"Mmm, connoisseur of armor as well."

"_Yeah."_

"We're lucky the rain isn't as hard in this passageway." High Elf Archer said. "How can it be raining underground anyway?"

"Rain's up top. It comes here via the sewer grates and the rivers." Dwarf Shaman explained.

"Awfully clever of you to bring lanterns." High Elf Archer complimented Priestess. "Torches would have never lasted in this weather!"

The girl nodded as she adjusted the rain fabric over Not a Goblin's head.

"Hey, Orcbolg, why don't you use lanterns?" High Elf Archer asked as Dwarf Shaman handed her a cup of wine. "You could hang it on your belt and have both hands free."

"A torch can double as a weapon." Goblin Slayer replied. "And once a lantern breaks, it becomes useless."

High Elf Archer hummed over the idea before taking a sip of wine, and subsequently spitting it out in disgust.

"You're such a child." Dwarf Shaman scolded, before handing the Slayer a cup as well. "Drink up, Beardcutter."

"Let's put something in our bellies." Goblin Slayer said.

"It's pretty simple, but I have this bread and grape wine." Priestess replied, taking out supplies from a bag. "I'd love to make something more involved, but it's hard to work up an appetite around here."

"True enough!" High Elf Archer remarked. "Thanks!"

"Then let us agree to a feast when this ordeal is over." Lizard Priest said.

"Ah, yes! And a feast in these parts includes…" Dwarf Shaman began.

"It's said the grains around here are rough, perfect for making batter." Goblin Slayer said. "Grilled river fish and a stir fry of beef liver and wine."

"...What he said." Dwarf Shaman nodded.

"Mandalorian sir, may I offer you some bread?" Priestess asked.

"_I had a ration a little while ago, thank you though. I think the kid might be a little hungry though."_

Priestess nodded, breaking off a piece and handing it to Not a Goblin, who took it eagerly with a coo. She ever so gently ran her hand across its forehead.

"Oh, ho! You're quite knowledgeable, Milord Goblin Slayer!" Lizard Priest exclaimed.

"When I said I was coming here, an acquaintance told me about it." Goblin Slayer said.

Suddenly, a loud noise was heard. Goblin Slayer stood up, sword in hand. "Stay calm."

Mandalorian stood up as well, slowly bringing out his pistol. High Elf Archer brandished her bow, looking ahead into the canals. The group ran out into the sewers.

"Here, Beardcutter!" Dwarf Shaman yelled, tossing the Slayer a lantern.

Goblin Slayer caught it in mid air, holding it out to illuminate the water below.

"Something's coming!" High Elf Archer yelled.

An outline of a boat emerged. And a shadow of a hooded, small figure stood on the front, waving his arms to be seen. Glowing yellow eyes stood out from the figure's dark, unseeable face.

"Goblins?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"_No. Jawas." _Mandalorian said.

"A-Are they friendly?" Priestess asked.

"_Think goblins, but if goblins just sold scrap metal to people for exorbitant amounts of money." _

"So, friendly then?" Goblin Slayer said.

"_Yeah. At least when compared to goblins."_

The Jawa standing in front screamed something in a strange tongue. The rest of the craft came into view. About thirteen Jawas scrambled around, some firing from the back side. A rower droid acted as the propellant, but it was clear this wasn't doing them well, as some Jawas were attempting to paddle the water with their hands in a pathetic attempt to gain speed.

Suddenly, an arrow flew over, right above the Jawa's head. He yelped in terror, falling down into the craft. A larger, more crude craft trailed behind them. It was a wooden boat, with skulls adorning the bowsprit. The group could make out the familiar small green horrors in plenty-a-number onboard.

"A goblin...ship?" Priestess asked.

"They're chasing after the hooded creatures!" High Elf Archer exclaimed. "We've got to stop them!"

The leading goblin cackled, before pointing at the Jawa's craft and yelling something incoherent. His minions lined up at the front of the boat, ready to unleash a volley of death on the scavengers. Two of the Jawas clinged to each other in fright.

"O, Earth Mother, abounding in mercy!" Priestess chanted. "By the power of the land, grant safety to we who are weak!"

The volley downed on the Jawa tribe, they all stopped and stared at the shower of arrows that was surely to be their demise. But death never came. The arrows bounced off of what could only be described as a wall of light.

The Jawas seemed shocked by this, but quickly got back into survival mode, as they must've known that the wall of light wasn't going to protect them for long.

"With these numbers, I can't hold them off forever!" Priestess told the group.

"It's enough." Goblin Slayer said.

"What are you going to do?" High Elf Archer asked.

"What else?" Goblin Slayer replied, winding up to throw his sword. "What I always do."

He tossed the sword, and it hit home, striking the leader right in the cranium.

"Kill all the goblins."

**Meanwhile…**

Marksman adjusted the helmet of his cartel uniform. "They really don't make these things adjustable, do they?"

"Nope." Lando said.

They had managed to sneak into the hut beside the walls and steal some outfits. To Marksman and Druid, it seemed like a routine plan. That was until they discovered an elevator leading down into the depths of the city.

"Man, this is crazy! All this underneath the noses of the townspeople!" Druid exclaimed.

"What exactly are we doing down here again?" Marksman asked.

"We gotta find some kind of evidence that proves my innocence, and use it to confront the Archbishop." Lando said. "After that, we're putting a stop to whatever operation the Hutts have planned."

"Got it." Druid nodded.

The door opened into a small lounge area. Druid recognised a lot of the sights around the room as a lot of the same things she had seen on Nevarro. Four soldiers sat around on the table. One, a burly man, stood up.

"You three! What're you doing wandering around outside? The boss called a briefing and now you've probably missed it!"

"Er-" Druid began. "S-Sorry, I had no idea."

Lando's eyes widened. _Mother of moons, these kids are going to get us killed._

The burly man winced and looked at her menacingly. It was at this moment Druid noticed he had a rather sharp knife he had been sharpening in his hand. He strode over to her slowly. "What. Did you just say. Womp rat?"

"I-I said that w-we had no idea?" Druid asked, shaking in fear.

"Well, if you wasn't told about the briefing, that means only one thing…" Another soldier, a Weequay dressed in a flight suit said, walking over until he was face to face. "...You're a DIRTY…"

Druid yelped and stepped back in fright.

"UNCULTURED...UNHYGIENIC...PRIMITIVE!" He finished.

"U-Um, y-yeah. T-that's us." Druid sputtered.

"The recruit station is in...the bloody...HANGAR!" The Weequay yelled, pointing to a door. "Get down there! And if I catch you bloody primitives down here again, I'll saw yer arms off, and sell em to a second-rate fencer with a pet anooba! As if we didn't already have enough of them!"

At that threat, Druid nodded and the three/astromech went over to the door, which slid open. A massive carved out cove opened the depths of the underground out to sunlight. Five columns of people, ranging from elves, dwarves, humans, lizardmen, and rheas, stood at attention, awaiting instruction from their supposed superior, a heavily armored figure with his hands to his back.

"New recruits in this line!" A Cartel soldier said, gesturing towards the rank-and-file.

"Gentlemen, ladies!" The armored figure said, spreading his arms out wide. His armor was black, with red lines going down his arms and legs, as well as spreading out to cover his chestplate. "Welcome to the Hutt Cartel!"

As they approached the back of the line, Lando elbowed Druid.

"You're lucky we didn't get ourselves killed back there!" He whispered.

"Well then next time you say something!" Druid shot back.

"Great idea."

"We don't care who you are, or what you've done. All we know is you're like us." The figure said, pacing as he monologued. "You figured out that there's more to this world than knights and dragons, gods and…"

He paused, closing a fist. "...Goblins. You have seen our superior technology, seen our craft in the sky, heard the tales of the galaxy at large...And you want more!"

He then raised the closed fist upward in a triumphant pump. "And we shall give you more! But first, you must work for it! You will be trained, your primitive minds will be broken, replaced anew by unquestioning loyalty to the Hutts! And if you fail…"

"Boss! Boss!"

The trio's heads snapped to the door they just walked in from. The Weequay made a beeline and stopped halfway to the stage.

"We just got an update from the town guard! They say General Calrissian escaped!"

"What?!" The armored man asked shockingly. "How? Who?"

"I dunno, sir! They said a boy…" The Weequay paused and turned his head towards the trio.

"...And a girl…" He snarled, reaching for his blaster pistol.

"...And a little green dome with legs." He pulled it out, as several cartel soldiers surrounded the trio. The line of recruits backed up from them as well.

Druid frowned. "I'll be honest, I didn't think we'd get made this fast."

"Actually, recruits, I think a demonstration is in order. If you fail...this will happen." The armored man said. "Execute them!"

The Weequay chuckled. "Looks like that second-rate fencing anooba keeper's gonna have some arms to use after all!"

"H-hey General? I think now would be a good time to put that military strategist mind to use." Marksman said.

Lando smiled. "I thought you'd never ask."

**To be continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone. For those of you waiting on my other stories, I want to get your thoughts on perhaps just focusing on only one story at a time until it's finished. It just seems more productive than trying to scramble around getting chapters out for different stories. Or maybe even 2 at a time.**

**Chapter 8**

The lead goblin fell down into the water.

"That's one." Goblin Slayer counted.

"Hey!" High Elf Archer yelled. "What did I tell you about throwing your sword?!"

"We must strike their leader first." Goblin Slayer explained.

"Oh for-" High Elf Archer seethed, pulling back her bow and letting loose an arrow. "That's what I'm for!"

The arrow embedded in another goblin's head, killing him instantly. A Jawa peeked up, looking at their saviours. The goblins immediately started firing arrows at the party, but the wall of light seemed to move towards them, blocking the arrows.

"How many spells do you have?" Goblin Slayer asked Dwarf Shaman. "Use tunnel to blast a hole if you can."

Mando did a double take. "_What?"_

"You blamed idiot! You're gonna bring the whole town down on top of us!" Dwarf Shaman scolded.

"Not up. Down." Goblin Slayer replied. "Blast a hole in the canal, drain the water."

"A city is like a delicate machine! One small change could flood the entire place!" Dwarf Shaman exclaimed.

"It is not fire, or water, or poison…" Goblin Slayer said.

"_Yeah, I'm beginning to see why your party made those rules."_ Mandalorian replied.

"Something else!" High Elf Archer yelled.

Goblin Slayer hummed to himself in thought.

"I can't...hold it much longer!" Priestess shouted.

"I do not suppose you have another gate scroll, do you?" Lizard Priest asked.

"I would have brought it if I did. But…" Goblin Slayer replied, taking out small pouch.

"And the plan?"

"We dive in the moment Protection fails." Goblin Slayer said.

"Very well."

"_Acknowledged."_

"You cast protection again. Keep our defenses strong." Goblin Slayer told Priestess.

"Y-Yes, sir!"

"What about the Jawas?" High Elf Archer asked.

"We'll divert the goblins' attention away from them." Goblin Slayer replied. He turned to Dwarf Shaman. "Can you target that boat with your spells?"

"That'll be fine. If you can buy me a little time first." The dwarf nodded.

"I will." Goblin Slayer said.

"Milord Goblin Slayer…" Lizard Priest began. "I know how you love to throw your weapons, but that sword claw…"

"I understand." Goblin Slayer nodded. "I'll try not to throw it."

"Try."

All of a sudden, a rope flew over to the Jawa's craft. Goblins started climbing down. The Jawas scrambled, throwing the rope overboard. More ropes started falling down towards them.

"They're boarding our hooded friends!" Dwarf Shaman exclaimed.

"There's a ladder down there! I'll get them to us!" High Elf Archer said.

"J-Just a little...longer!" Priestess yelled. Not a Goblin raised a hand in distress, seemingly worried by seeing its caretaker in such a state.

Goblin Slayer loosened the top to the pouch and threw it at the goblin's boat. It smashed against a goblin's head, sending black powder all across the boat. A couple Jawas stopped what they were doing and watched intently. Immediately the goblins started screeching in pain, as the powder seemed to irritate them to no end.

"What was that?" Lizard Priest asked.

"Crushed pepper and powdered viper." Goblin Slayer replied. "Close your eyes and mouth. And don't breathe. Here we go."

"_Aren't you glad I wore a helmet?"_ Mando quipped, activating his jetpack. He strafed to the side, letting loose a bellow of flame from his wrist that caught unpowdered goblins off guard. Goblin Slayer and Lizard Priest jumped down onto the boat, slicing up goblins as they landed.

Goblin Slayer knocked a goblin aside with his fist, observing it. "Hm. Armor. Yes...unusually good equipment."

He kicked the goblin off the boat. "Knocking them overboard is easier."

The goblin landed with a splash next to the Jawa piloting the boat, to which he reacted with minor surprise. Three other Jawas next to him babbled to him in their language, as they steered around the body. Then a feminine voice called out to them.

"Hey! Over here!"

The Jawas looked over to see High Elf Archer standing beneath the canal bridge at the floor below it, gesturing over to her. "Steer it over here!"

The Jawas muttered to each other at increased speed, pointing over to High Elf Archer. The driver pulled a steering lever over to the side, causing the craft to turn towards her.

"O, fearsome nagas, my forebears!" Lizard Priest exclaimed as his tail crushed a goblin. "Behold your descendant's deeds in battle!"

A goblin flew right at Lizard Priest, about to strike. A wire wrapped itself around its stomach, and before it could squeal, it was quickly swung into a wall, its head bashed in as it sank into the water. Mando landed on the boat, his fuel depleted for the time. He brought out his Amban rifle and struck a goblin with his shock-bayonet.

Goblin Slayer kicked a goblin right into two goblins holding spears, impaling it. "Sixteen."

The Jawas reached High Elf Archer, who put her weight on the craft to stop it. The rower droid stopped paddling, and the Jawas started to hustle out, carrying supplies, some of which the ranger helped to take as a gesture of good will. One of them grabbed a sack of some sort which glowed blue from the inside, chuckling to himself as he exited, to which High Elf Archer looked over curiously. They ran back up to the overhead bridge, watching the spectacle.

"Still, there are a great many of them." Goblin Slayer muttered to himself.

The goblin's boat came under the bridge. A goblin holding a spear pounced on Goblin Slayer, but it was stopped by an arrow, as were many others that came out of the cabin to attack.

"Elves can land an arrow with one eye shut!" High Elf Archer boasted.

The Jawas looked on, staring at the elf's marksmanship with interest.

"There's so many of them though." She complained, holding up goblin arrows. "I hate to use these, but...it looks like I might not have a choice."

The lead Jawa gathered his fellows around, speaking quickly and gesturing. The rest muttered amongst themselves, scattering in every which way.

"Hmm...what do they have planned?" High Elf Archer asked herself.

"I've collected myself. I'm ready to go again!" Priestess said.

"Perfect! Go for it!" High Elf Archer said.

All of a sudden, she heard a clear, loud,

"Utinni!"

About six or seven Jawas approached the edge of the bridge and threw down stones, rocks, bricks, and about anything else they had in their hands. Some of them had ion blasters, with which they incapacitated the goblins with blue bolts of electricity.

"Looks like we got ourselves some new allies!" High Elf Archer said triumphantly.

The goblins, distracted by this new attack, became piecemeal for both Goblin Slayer and Lizard Priest, as well as Mando, who cut them down as quickly as they came out.

The elf then noticed a goblin up top peek up from a green cloak, bow in hand to fire at a Jawa.

"Protection!" Priestess chanted.

The familiar wall of light illuminated, and the arrow bounced harmlessly off. High Elf Archer's arrow, however, hit home, killing the goblin archer.

"Dwarf! Hold off on the spell! I think the Jawas have something planned!" High Elf Archer yelled.

"Got it, Long Ears!" Dwarf Shaman replied. "They'd better hurry though!"

Then, Goblin Slayer took notice of a Jawa, on the Jawa's craft, yelling something.

"What's it saying?"

Mandalorian listened closely.

"GOGOWA! GOGOWA!"

He looked intently at the craft, noticing several blue vials of gas being dumped into the craft, and the rower droid wired up to a beeping disc with a red light on it.

"_Run."_ Mando said. "_RUN!"_

He jumped off the boat, and Goblin Slayer followed, along with Lizard Priest.

The goblins seemed confused by these actions, up until they heard the beeping get louder and faster. The Jawa on top chuckled at the green menaces, before turning the rowing droid on and leaping off the craft.

The rowing droid steered the craft backwards so that it was about to collide with the goblin's boat, and the goblins scrambled in panic.

A massive blast of blue and purple fire erupted. The planks on the front of the goblin's boat were torn off by the impact.

Then, the explosive disc went off, sending vials of blue onto the boat, which then burst into even more flames. Goblin wails and shrieks filled the air as the remains of the ship went full capsize, and then flipped over, dooming any and all goblins still onboard.

"What…" High Elf Archer began, dumbfounded by the carnage. "Was that?!"

Mando picked up one of the vials and examined it. "_Looks like some kind of incendiary fuel. Maybe some sort of refined rhydonium. Either way it's highly volatile." _

"I thought we said no explosions!" High Elf Archer said.

"I guess our hooded friends weren't notified." Dwarf Shaman replied.

"Indeed. Remind me not to underestimate these...Jawas." Lizard Priest added.

"_I had to learn that the hard way." _Mando said.

"Is that so?" Goblin Slayer asked.

"_Yeah."_

"I see."

The Jawas cheered, jumping around and waving their hands at the group.

Priestess smiled at the small creatures. "Well there you go. Not all green things are evil, and not all small things are either."

"I think I'm starting to like your world a little better Mando." High Elf Archer said.

Mando scoffed lightly. "_Give it a day or two on Nevarro. That will change quick."_

One of the Jawas walked over to Mando and whispered something to him. He had widened his knowledge of Jawaese since his last encounter, at least when it came to listening as opposed to speaking.

"_He says the chieftain's son and his droid stayed behind to fight them."_

"Them?" Goblin Slayer asked.

High Elf Archer's ears perked up. "Something's coming!"

**Meanwhile…**

"Right, then. Do the deed." The red armored man said.

"Why now, boss?" The Weequay asked. "We're about to kill General Lando Calrissian! Don't you want to savor this a bit more?"

"I got a better idea." Lando told the crowd. "You let us go, before the New Republic hears of this, and we bring you to justice!"

The hangar echoed with the laughs of the cartel soldiers.

He turned to Druid. "You know how to use that minigun?"

"Can't say that I don't." Druid muttered.

"Alright, well get ready to."

"Hahaha! You-Y-You actually think…" The Weequay snorted. "The New Republic's gonna come all the way out here to save your fancy-pants-lookin' arse?"

"Maybe if I give 'em a little time first!" Lando said.

With that, he dropped a small gray ball on the floor, which exploded into smoke. The smoke filled the area, and all hell broke loose. Cartel soldiers fired into the smoke indiscriminately. Druid returned the fire with her Z-6, hitting a couple. Marksman and Lando joined her, hitting several more.

"Get to that skiff over there!" Lando yelled, pointing at a large floating craft with railings on the side.

They followed him onboard, Druid covering the retreat. The Weequay snarled and fired from his pistol, nicking her in the arm.

She yelped in pain, and ran onto the skiff.

"You okay?" Lando asked.

"Yeah, got me right in the arm." Druid said.

"Alright, get on one of the laser cannons. Marksman! Get your astromech to pilot this thing, we need all hands on deck!"

"Do your magic, BeeZee." Marksman said to the droid.

BeeZee trilled in compliance, moving over to the control panel and plugging into an access port.

The craft roared to life. Druid grabbed hold of a laser cannon and fired at the hangar as they sped away.

"Whew!" Lando sighed. "I think we got away."

"Yeah. I can't believe-ah!" Druid winced, holding on to her arm.

"Here, let me take a look." Lando said, walking over and examining it. "Oooh, that's a battle wound if I ever saw one!"

"Is it contagious?" Druid asked.

"Contagious?" Lando repeated. "I don't think you quite understand how blasters work, miss."

"Ya think?" She replied.

"Alright, now. No need to panic." Lando reassured her. "It'll leave a mark, but it's not anything life threatening. I just need to give you a bit of bacta to regrow that burnt tissue."

He took out a syringe of blue liquid.

"This'll sting a bit."

Druid whimpered lightly as he injected the blue stuff into her arm.

"Better?" He asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." Druid said. "W-What I was trying to say earlier, is that I couldn't believe the amount of people the Hutts recruited from our planet."

Lando nodded. "You'd be surprised what can motivate some people."

"Maybe the Hutts have something planned." Marksman speculated. "And it's got these people scared that if they don't join now, they'll be left at the mercy of it."

"Hmm. We can think over this later. For now, we should get some rest. Get that arm time to heal. Tomorrow, we can talk about a plan." Lando told the crew.

**Back in the hangar…**

The red armored figure knelt down before the hologram, closing his eyes as he waited for the protocol droid to translate.

"_The Gracious and Mighty Hutt Council is dissatisfied with this latest development."_ It informed the man. "_If General Calrissian is to escape, the armada of the New Republic Navy will come for you, and our plans will have failed."_

"Rest assured, Masterful Hutts." The man said. "I have a plan in motion to ensure he does not."

A Hutt shouted something angrily.

"_And what exactly makes you think so?" _

"Because he won't want to." The man replied, eyeing with interest an image taken from one of his probe droids. An image of Mando, along with four very familiar faces, running from an alligator.

**To Be Continued...**


End file.
